Several Health Programs Affected by $54 Million in New Tennessee Budget Cuts

Tennessee Gov. Don Sundquist (R) on Sept. 18 announced $54 million in additional budget cuts, including several cuts to state health programs, the AP/Nashville Tennessean reports. The spending reductions, which now total $97 million, were the "last in a series" mandated by the state Legislature after it passed on Aug. 7 a $19.6 billion budget over the veto of Sundquist, who desired higher spending levels. Total cuts now stand at $97 million. The new cuts include:

• $5 million at the Department of Health, which will cover approximately three-fourths of the reduction by leaving 10% of its positions unfilled, or about 287 jobs (AP/Nashville Tennessean, 9/19). The department will also eliminate or scale back nine health programs to save $585,000, including the elimination of a $90,000 children's dental health program. It will also cut $43,000 from two health screening programs and $114,000 from two family planning programs (Locker, Memphis Commercial Appeal, 9/19).
• $4 million at the Department of Human Services (AP/Nashville Tennessean). Of that $4 million, $500,000 will be cut from a home health care program for the elderly and disabled. According to DHS spokesperson Paul Ladd, the program currently serves 610 people and has a 5,000-person waiting list (Memphis Commercial Appeal, 9/19).
• $3 million from the Bureau of TennCare, the state's Medicaid managed care program. According to spokesperson Lola Potter, the agency will address the cut by "reverting part of a $10 million appropriation" for a "non-nursing" home health program for the elderly "that cannot begin before March, well into the fiscal year" (AP/Nashville Tennessean, 9/19).