TennCare stories in the media

Rebekah Hearn’s October 31st article, “TennCut: Why the state Medicaid program is slashing services to thousands of disabled people” tells the stories of 3 severely disabled Tennesseans whose lives depend on a program that is doing everything it can to exclude them.  The article includes several beautifully shot, intimate photos by Lance Murphey.  According to Ms. Hearn, about 84,000 Tennesseans have lost their TennCare coverage since cuts began earlier this year.  Below is a brief summary of the article.  The full article can be found at by clicking this link, and it truly is well worth the read.

“Thyroid disease, congestive heart failure, blood clots, anemia, and rheumatoid arthritis are just some of the health problems Memphian Ann B. wakes up to every day,” writes Ms. Hearn.  Since Ms. B. lost her TennCare coverage, TJC and her primary care physician have helped her apply for assistance.  Even with help from the Partnership for Prescription Assistance, Ms. B. is unable to pay for all the medicines she needs.  Losing TennCare coverage was, “like a sentence to die,” said Ms. B.  “I mean, if I don’t take my medicine, I’m dead.”

Brandon Byrd also faces the possibility of losing coverage.  At age 24, Mr. Byrd became a tracheotomy-dependent quadriplegic when he fell off a trampoline while playing with his children, ages 5 and 11.  Mr. Byrd requires constant care to keep his tracheotomy from clogging, which could be fatal.  If Mr. Byrd loses coverage, he will be forced into a nursing home, where his “quality of care will go down,” said one healthcare worker.  “They can’t make me go,” said Mr. Byrd. “I would stay at home as long as I could. I probably wouldn’t make it any longer than a week and a half. But I don’t want to go live in a place that could be even worse than prison, where I can’t even see my kids.”

Jacqueatha Philips was born with spina bifida, and needs catheterizations and help taking her medications.  Her mother, Linda Fann, became a certified Personal Assistant (PA) so that she could care for her daughter.  When TennCare tried to cut Ms. Philips’s in-home care, she appealed.  At the hearing, Ms. Fann argued that she was actually saving TennCare money by becoming a PA.  The judge agreed, and said Ms. Philips could keep her in-home care.  But TennCare overruled the judge’s decision and reduced her care anyway.

Ms. Hearn indicated that the healthcare situation for low-income Tennesseans will probably get worse before it gets better:  CoverKids, a program that covers low income children and pregnant women, will stop accepting new enrollees Nov. 30 despite increased federal matching funds. TennCare is also putting American Recovery and Reinvestment Act money into the reserves even though federal law requires that it be spent right away.