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A change to TennCare’s home health policies last fall, and the disappearance of a TennCare eligibility category, now threaten the life that Brandon has built since his accident. Essentially, TennCare is now requiring Tennesseans who need extensive care to make do with a dramatic reduction in home health hours or go into nursing homes, where the care would ostensibly be cheaper. Adding insult to injury, Brandon may lose his TennCare altogether because TennCare closed the category of eligibility Brandon qualified for.
Brandon says that there is more to care than its price tag, and his doctors agree that Brandon’s health would suffer in a nursing home. His tracheostomy requires frequent suctioning, and his doctors fear that he wouldn’t get the attention needed to keep him safe in a nursing home. Brandon lives with his grandmother, who does what she can to help, but is not physically able or properly trained to keep her grandson healthy and safe. Without constant in-home care, Brandon will be forced into a nursing home, to drop out of school, and to leave the community where his sons live. If Brandon loses his TennCare entirely, he’ll lose all his services and be left with no option but institutionalization, all before his 30th birthday.
The cuts that threaten Brandon’s family are in stark contrast to the recent promises to increase home and community based services for disabled Tennesseans. Cutting disabled individuals from TennCare flies in the face of the national movement to provide quality affordable choices for all Americans. Tennessee ranks among the worst states for home and community based options. Solutions such as the Long Term Care Choices Act were touted as improvements that would help keep families like Brandon’s together. Unfortunately, the State has not honored its promises, and many families now find themselves with no choice but to split up or face inadequate care. Likewise, the state has promised for years to open the Standard Spend Down program, a way for people losing TennCare to get back on if their medical bills are nearly equal to their monthly income. Still, the program remains closed, TennCare retains a surplus of millions of dollars, and Tennesseans like Brandon suffer.
Determined to keep his family together and to stand up for disabled parents across Tennessee, Brandon contacted the Tennessee Justice Center (TJC). With the help of TJC and Memphis attorney Linda Casals, Brandon is fighting his home health cuts in Chancery Court. Brandon has shared his story with legislators on the State and Federal level, and continues to be a strong advocate for all families struggling with health care issues. TJC recognized Brandon as a Father of the Year in 2009, and held a reception in Memphis in his honor.