Lee’s proposed health care block grants are a bad deal
It’s common sense to look under the hood of a used car and at least drive it around the block before you buy it.
So why take at face value what politicians say about plans they propose? Just like with any consumer transaction, you have to look beneath politicians’ claims about a proposed program or policy and see what you will really get.
That brings us to Governor Lee’s plan to essentially scrap Tennessee’s current Medicaid program, or Tenncare, and put in its place a health care block grant program.
The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) says block grants are “fixed pots of money that the federal
Not all health articles and medical study results are a waste of time. Sometimes the verbiage contains important information to which we should pay attention, even heed. It could save your life. A few months ago, I read that millions of people are dying from poor diets. This was not a reference to scarcity of food, but to eating all the wrong things – diets packed with sodium, sugar, trans fats and other killer additives.
The study went on to suggest that one in five deaths worldwide are linked to unhealthy eating government gives to states to provide benefits or services.”
Tenncare, on the other hand, is part of a federal commitment to provide vulnerable individuals and families with services when they need them.
“Anyone who is eligible for benefits or services can receive them and funding increases automatically and immediately to respond to increased need due to economic downturns, natural disasters, or higher-than-expected costs (such as when a new drug or procedure increases health care costs).”
That would require the state to cut $2 billion from health care spending since only half of the savings would stay in Tennessee; the other half would go back to the federal government.
Further, the state is under no obliga
tion to spend the savings on health care; contrary to the purpose of Medicaid, it could divert the funding and use it however it chooses.
Yet, the state will be able to make decisions without federal oversight and have “flexibility” in administering the plan, which means arbitrarily and without notice cutting services such as physical therapy, hospice and medicine.
Core services such as hospital and emergency room access, managed care plans, and coverage of important prescription drugs would also be subject to cuts without any oversight.
If I’ve gotten a bad deal from a car dealership, I don’t have much faith I will receive a good deal in the future.
The state has repeatedly shown it cannot be trusted when it comes to adopting sound healthcare policies on behalf of its citizens.
For example, the state has engaged in a practice of dropping children from the Tenncare rolls without notice – 200,000 in the last two years – the majority of whom are still eligible for coverage. The state has also caused Seniors problems when errors resulted in deductions from their checks. Given this track record, it appears the state needs more oversight; not less.
According to the Tennessee Justice Center, “Even with current measures of accountability, Tennessee is at the bottom of numerous health measures, including infant mortality, maternal mortality, and life expectancy.
Tennessee has the highest per capita rate of hospital closures, almost all of which affect rural counties.
We live in one of only 14 states which continues to refuse federal funds that would extend Medicaid to approximately 300,000 working Tennesseans and families and bring millions of dollars back into the state each day.
We need officials who will put Tennesseans first and come up with real solutions and tackle our health care problems.
Will a healthcare block grant help solve our state’s healthcare issues? I’m not buying it.
Anne Ferrell Quillen is an attorney practicing in Cumberland County, TN.