Turnout Low for Health Fair

Very few people turned out for a Health Care Options Fair, put on by the Governor’s office last night in Nashville.

The fairs are designed to help those losing their TennCare coverage sift through information from various safety net providers, and have been held in 6 other cities. Mark Brown is Legislative Coordinator for Governor Phil Bredesen. Brown says the low turnout was disappointing.

“In your city, you have a little more infrastructure like Bridges to Care or some other programs that are out there that are capable of offering assistance. In some of the rural areas, you know, it’s just a matter of your health care system isn’t as well developed…That presented a problem for attendance for us too.”

Brown says the fair in rural Mosheim, in East Tennessee, had the highest turnout with 70 people. Pulaski, Ripley, Chattanooga and Maynardville will be having fairs in the next few weeks.

Money for the Safety Net is in the process of being doled out, with significant portions, at least 53 million dollars, going to Express Scripts to manage and pay for the free pharmacy benefits for generics, insulin supplies, and mental health drugs.

Bredesen appropriated a total of 16-million dollars for infrastructure improvements to clinics and health departments, but clinics like Nashville’s Bridges to Care program are only eligible to apply for 6-million of that total.