Contact state legislator about the Insure Tennessee
By Tim Wheat
The Tennessee Health Care Campaign held a Townhall meeting on Insure Tennessee at the Benjamin Hooks Memphis Public Library Tuesday night from 6 to 8 p.m. About 30 people came out to hear the plan for improving health and keeping billions of dollars from leaving our state. People were asked to write House Speaker Beth Harwell and their state representatives to get Insure Tennessee back on the legislative agenda for 2016.
The town hall meeting began with a video produced by the Tennessee Justice Center that described the problem in Tennessee of the coverage gap. Residents of Tennessee with fixed and very low income are covered by the state Medicaid program called TennCare; most people can afford coverage and benefit from the Affordable Care Act’s subsidy; however, over 280,000 Tennesseans, including 24,000 Tennessee Veterans, fall into the gap between TennCare and subsidy.
Tony Garr with the Tennessee Health Care Campaign gave a brief history of how our state got to this point. He noted that over 60,000 residents of Shelby County will fall in the coverage gap that Insure Tennessee is intended to protect. He was clear that Insure Tennessee is not Obamacare and has no cost to taxpayers.
Mr. Garr quoted a University of Tennessee study that showed Insure Tennessee would bring over $1.2 billion into the state. The reverberation of this advantage would not only be in public health, but could prevent hospitals from closing and would add more than 15,000 jobs to the Tennessee economy. The Tennessee Department of Mental Health estimated that they would save $40 million.
Mr. Garr showed that these figures are not hypothetical. Kentucky, although a smaller state than Tennessee, has expanded its Medicaid program and has saved $802 million and created 40,000 new jobs. In the first year of Medicaid expansion, Kentucky had $6 billion in state savings from uncompensated care alone.
“America gets little for the high health care costs we pay,” said Rick Donlon of Resurrection Health. “Not accepting Insure Tennessee has real-life repercussions for Memphis. This city is suffering already from a two-tier health care system. They say you should be careful driving down Wolf River Parkway with your window down, you may get a heart-stent.”
Dr. Tom Cooper of the University of Tennessee gave a view from his perspective working in the Emergency Room. He pointed out that the people in the coverage gap are working citizens that have jobs and want to keep them. Uncompensated care is often delayed and more expensive, and it is those with insurance that are absorbing the cost.
A Graduate Assistant at the University of Memphis told the audience that he is in the coverage gap. Steven Payne just checked on his health care cost and found that it would be 32% of his annual income. He said he has no coverage but supports Insure Tennessee so that working residents can get the health care they need.
Contact state officials:
Governor Bill Haslam
1st Floor State Capitol
Nashville, TN 37243
615-741-2001
Bill.Haslam@tn.gov
House Speaker Beth Harwall
301 6th Ave. North Suite 19 Legislative Plaza
Nashville, TN 37243
speaker.beth.harwell@capitol.tn.gov
Find my legislator: www.capitol.tn.gov/legislators/
See photos from the event.
The MATA STAC for 2016
By Christina Clift, Bobbie Fields and Allison Donald
On December 3, 2015 members of the Specialized Transportation Advisory Committee (STAC) for MATA met at the Perkins restaurant located at 3455 Poplar Avenue. The purpose of the committee is to provide substantive suggestions on how MATA can improve its services for seniors and persons with disabilities.
One of the decisions made during the meeting included increasing the frequency of meetings from bimonthly to every month. Some of the items discussed during the meeting included using videos to teach people how to make reservations, take a trip on the trolley or fixed route bus, and to advertise MATAplus service. We also discussed updating the existing MATAplus application to make it more user friendly, updating the rider’s guide for MATAplus, suggesting needed changes to the automated greeting, and conducting a customer satisfaction survey to be mailed to all MATAplus riders.
Finally, STAC plans to begin giving an award for MATA bus operators or staff person that has gone above and beyond their job to assist the public. This award will be given out on a quarterly basis and we’d love nominations from the public. Nominations can be sent to Bobbie Fields at:
bobbie@mcil.org.
All of STAC’s meetings are open to the public and we are always looking to recruit more members. The next meeting will be at 3:00 PM on January 7, 2016 at a location to be announced. For more information please call STAC Secretary Bobbie Fields at (901) 726-6404 Ext, 112.
Action Alert from the National Council on Independent Living: Independent Living At Risk for Budget Cuts
As 2016 nears its end, Congress is hard at work on the budget before the current short-term continuing resolution expires on December 11. Lawmakers are expected to write an omnibus combining the 12 annual funding bills into one. The Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015, overall funding levels are higher now due to $33 billion in sequestration relief. But that still does not bring us up to pre-sequestration levels, which means that we are still at risk for budget cuts – cuts that the IL program simply cannot afford.
We must keep advocating for increased funding for Independent Living. Congress has until next week to work on appropriations. Please contact your members of Congress today to ensure that they know how important IL is to their constituents around the country. You can do so by visiting the NCIL Action Portal and sending a message to your Senators and Representatives. While it is important that we reach all members of Congress, this is especially important if you have Senators on the Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (list below). Please take action now!
Appropriations L-HHS-Ed Members
Republicans:
Tom Cole, Chairman (OK)
Steve Womack, Vice Chair (AR)
Charlie Dent (PA)
Chuck Fleischmann (TN)
Andy Harris (MD)
Scott Rigell (VA)
Martha Roby (AL)
Mike Simpson (ID)
Democrats:
Rosa DeLauro, Ranking Member
Chaka Fattah (PA)
Barbara Lee (CA)
Lucille Roybal-Allard (CA)
NCIL Action Portal
Please let us know if you get a re-determination notice
From The Tennessee Justice Center: Phase 3 re-determinations begin with mass mailings tomorrow, December 1. This phase will result in the termination of coverage for those unable to meet deadlines for the completion of complex paperwork, or who are found to be ineligible. We are concerned about the risk that large numbers of eligible people will lose their coverage.
If you see or hear of any TennCare pink notices received please contact us right away. MCIL and the Tennessee Justice Center wish to see the notice and we will plan a 1-hour webinar for advocates within a week of seeing the phase 3 notice. The Tennessee Justice Center webinar will be designed to share information that will aid advocates in helping clients through this arduous process.
Thank you for your help with this and remember to put the December 8, Insure Tennessee town hall meeting, on your calendar for 6 to 7:30 pm at the Benjamin Hooks Public Library, 3030 Poplar.
Contact MCIL: 901-726-6404
