New Nashville Clinic Will Provide Discounted Health Care, Specialty Care for Uninsured, Low-Income Workers

A pair of physicians in Nashville, Tenn., in September will open a clinic targeting those uninsured workers who earn too much to qualify for TennCare, the state's Medicaid managed care program, the Nashville Tennessean reports. Drs. David Gaw and Tom Henderson, backed by Baptist Hospital, the Frist Foundation and "several" other foundations, will offer care to some of Nashville's 60,000 "working poor." To receive care, patients are required to bring a pay stub to the clinic for care; those earning up to about 200% of the federal poverty level, or an annual income of about $36,000 for a family of four, are eligible for "discounted" visits, which cost between $5 and $15. The physicians are also creating a referral service composed of specialists who will take one free referral a month; hospitals that will provide one free surgery per month; and a "roster" of doctors and nurses willing to provide services on evenings and weekends. The clinic will operate with an annual budget of $500,000 and, though a special agreement with Baptist Hospital, will pay $1 for its year-long building lease (Chavez, Nashville Tennessean, 8/2).