Legislation Would Hold Tennessee Courts Responsible for Paying Some of Access MedPLUS’ Bills

Tennessee lawmakers are considering legislation that would make the state's courts responsible for some of the money owed to health care providers by Access MedPLUS, a now-insolvent health plan that was a part of TennCare, the state's Medicaid managed care program, the Nashville Tennessean reports. The bill would shift funds budgeted for the courts to cover the cost of any unpaid Access MedPLUS bills between January and November of last year, when the Davidson County Chancellory Court first refused to put the health plan in receivership and then eventually allowed the state to begin liquidating the firm (Lewis, Nashville Tennessean, 2/14). In October, Tennessee officials seized control of Access MedPLUS, and the state won a court order in November to take control of operations at Access MedPLUS after financial reports indicated the health plan was insolvent. At the time, state officials said they would reimburse providers who serve Access MedPLUS beneficiaries based on TennCare Select rates (Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, 10/22/01). Currently, a state-appointed liquidator is assessing what Access MedPLUS owes to providers. State Sen. Jerry Cooper (D), the bill's sponsor, said the bill, which will not likely become law, is designed to "get [the] attention" of Chancellor Irvin Kilcrease, who orginally refused to put the health plan into state receivership. But other lawmakers said it is wrong to "punish" the courts for Kilcrease's decision (Nashville Tennessee, 2/14).