Bill Would Authorize Survey To Determine Whether Dropped TennCare Beneficiaries Obtained Other Health Coverage

Under a bill approved Feb. 19 by the Tennessee Senate Commerce, Labor and Agriculture Committee, the state Department of Commerce and Insurance would be permitted to spend up to $50,000 to survey former TennCare beneficiaries to determine whether they acquired insurance after losing TennCare benefits, the Nashville Tennessean reports. The bill would authorize surveys to be sent to people who were or will be dropped from TennCare after eligibility reverification processes between July 1, 2001, and June 30, 2002. Between November 2001 and December 2001, the state ended TennCare benefits for about 50,000 people determined to be ineligible, TennCare spokesperson Lola Potter said (Gerome, Nashville Tennessean, 2/20). The state was permitted to remove those ineligible beneficiaries through a court agreement reached in November. Under the agreement, Tennessee officials sent enrollment termination notices -- which include a right to appeal -- to about 52,000 beneficiaries who were determined ineligible. The state attempted to contact about 25,000 beneficiaries with "invalid addresses" and sent termination notices to another 27,000 beneficiaries who failed to pay TennCare premiums for at least four months. Beneficiaries deemed no longer eligible for benefits have 30 days to contact the state and begin paying premiums. Eventually, the state hopes to reverify eligibility of between 40,000 and 60,000 beneficiaries per month (Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, 11/15).