Tennessee Governor Says Gubernatorial Candidates’ Plans to Reform TennCare Unnecessary

Responding to calls by gubernatorial candidates to reform TennCare, Tennessee's Medicaid managed care program, Gov. Don Sundquist (R), who is not running for re-election, said that the state's Medicaid managed care program is "already fixed" as the result of a new federal waiver, the Knoxville News-Sentinel reports (Humphrey, Knoxville News-Sentinel, 8/29). A waiver approved earlier this year by the federal government allows the state to restructure eligibility and benefits offered under the program. The waiver calls for the creation of TennCare Medicaid, which would cover Medicaid-eligible individuals, and TennCare Assist, which would provide low-income workers assistance in purchasing private health insurance. Further, the waiver permits the creation of TennCare Standard for adults with no access to group insurance and annual incomes below the poverty level, or $8,860 for an individual; children in families with annual incomes below 200% of the poverty level, $36,200 for a family of four, and no access to group insurance; and medically eligible people with illnesses that make them uninsurable (Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, 8/23). Gubernatorial candidates Van Hilleary (R) and Phil Bredesen (D) each have said "repeatedly" that if elected, they would "tighten" the program's eligibility rules, as well as regulations regarding the uninsurable. But Sundquist said at an Aug. 28 press conference, "What's better than promising to do something that's already been done? That assures success." He added, "Maybe [Hilleary and Bredesen] ought to get a briefing" on the waiver changes (Knoxville News-Sentinel, 8/29).