TENNCARE CRISIS

April 6, 2006 - Holston Churches Building Healthy Communities (Download PDF) or Register Online

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TennCare cut-related deaths have been reported. We will confirm this when more information is available.

HOLSTON CONFERENCE continues to develop its ministry to serve people affected by TennCare cuts.

• On Aug. 1, Holston Outreach/Advocacy Chair Steve Hodges met with the Rev. Jason Brock, staff person for the Tennessee Conference's Love and Justice Ministries. Hodges and Brock identified five areas that Tennessee- based United Methodist conferences can address: assessing the impact of TennCare cuts and collecting stories; ministry to immediate needs; educating members about TennCare and the health-care crisis in general; advocacy, especially as it relates to the first three activities; promoting preventive care among members. The newly formed Holston TennCare Task Force will address these issues and others at an Aug. 26 meeting.
  
  
• Bridges to Care is a collaborative effort to provide a coordinated system of volunteer physicians, hospitals, laboratories, and pharmacies in Nashville. According to Hodges, the network could inspire a similar effort within Holston Conference.
  To learn more, visit http://www.nashvillemedicine.org/bridges.
  
  
• At the Volunteers in Medicine Clinic in Chattanooga, telephone calls are coming in daily from TennCare subscribers concerned about losing their coverage. The clinic still needs volunteer physicians, physician's assistants, and nurse practitioners, as well as computer-skilled volunteers, says Becky Hall. Call (423) 855-8220.
  
  
• A new faith-based medical clinic opened in Knoxville on Aug. 1. Free Medical Clinic at 6209 Chapman Highway is in need of volunteer physicians, nurses, and a secretary, according to founder Dr. Tom Kim. "We've already seen 200 patients since opening," said Kim on Aug. 18. Call (865) 577-3733.
  
  
• Information on children's health benefits. CHIP/Medicaid: Nearly all low-income children are eligible for either Medicaid or CHIP, but 1 in 5 remain uninsured - 2 out of 3 uninsured low-income children have a parent who works full-time throughout the year.

Stories to Inspire...

• From The Call
  
  • The Face of Tenncare Cuts
    
    
  • Close to Home
    
    
• UMTV Video about SW Virginia/NE Tennessee Crossroads Medical Mission
  
  
• Video about Volunteers in Medicine Clinic in Chattanooga vim-chatt.org
  (There is another VIM clinic in Morristown, TN - Call (423) 581-4100)
  

Following the passage of a resolution at the Holston Annual Conference on June 15, church members based in Tennessee are urged to move quickly in order to help thousands of TennCare subscribers at risk for losing their health insurance.

The resolution's most immediate objective is to encourage congregations to help TennCare subscribers who will lose their coverage.

*Congregations interested in hosting training events should contact Deborah Yeomans at (423) 928-8311, ext. 38, or e-mail.

* For other information, contact Steve Hodges at (423) 733-4195, (423) 733-1626, or e-mail. You may also contact the connectional ministries office toll-free at (866) 690-4080.


Statement from Bishop Swanson regarding the January 10, 2005 announcement of 300,000+ adults being cut from TennCare:

I am saddened by the Governor's decision to no longer provide healthcare to some of the citizens of Tennessee. I acknowledge that the economic conditions of our day may be driving this decision but my theological understanding of myself as brother's and sister's keeper will not allow me to let this pass without saying I am pained.

The larger issue that looms before us is neither economics nor affordability. It is the question of whether or not we will care for each other and especially the least, the lost and the last of our communities.

It is my sincere hope that our governor would not only reconsider this action but that he would gather the best minds in the state to lead us to a permanent solution to Tennessee's healthcare crisis. The bible calls upon us to care for each other and it is simply a matter of human kindness.

James E. Swanson, Sr.
Resident Bishop of the Holston Annual Conference of the United Methodist
Church
(This covers most of what we know as East Tennessee)

Please share this alert throughout the church community in Tennessee.
 
Recent developments put a two year moratorium on legal actions which might have led to Governor Bredesen's shutdown of TennCare coverage for 400,000 Tennessee residents. TennCare reforms will continue to be debated. The current reforms won't remove coverage but will reduce coverage for many Tennessee residents.

Please take the following actions, to ensure adequate coverage for Tennessee citizens:

1. Write and call the Governor

Governor Phil Bredesen
State Capitol, First Floor
Nashville, TN  37243

Phone #: 615-741-2001
Fax #: 615- 532-9711

Email: Phil.Bredesen@state.tn.us
Please send a copy to Tony Garr of the Tennessee Health Care Campaign: tgarr@thcc2.org

Over 200 Clergy from Major Denominations from across Tennessee wrote the Governor on Sept. 16, 2004 (PDF)

2. Write letters to the editor

Write letters to the editor of your local newspaper. Be sure to include your name, address and phone number with every letter. The basic message is:

• The lives of 400,000 women, children and people with serious medical conditions are at risk;
  
• If these people lose their health care coverage, local hospitals will become their primary care provider, which will be very costly in lives and in money; and
  
• TennCare is being ineffectively managed: People cannot find doctors and prescription drugs are costing the state too much.
  

Send your letters to:

Chattanooga Times:
lweaver@timesfreepress.com fax: 423-757-6383

Knoxville News Sentinel
letters@knews.com fax: 865-342-6404

MetroPulse (this is Knoxville's Alternative Weekly)
editor@metropulse.com Fax: 865-522-2955

Tennessean:
letters@tennessean.com fax: 615-259-8093.

Nashville Scene:
editor@nashvillescene.com fax: 615-254-4743

The City Paper:
letters@nashvillecitypaper.com fax: (615) 298-2780

Commercial Appeal:
letters@commercialappeal.com
-and-
PO Box 334
Letter to the Editor
Memphis, TN 38101

Jackson Sun:
letters@jacksonsun.com fax: 731-425-9639

For any additional newspapers in Tennessee, check out
this site.
http://www.usnpl.com/tnnews.html

3. Write and call your state legislators

Everyone has one State Senator and one State Representative. You can go to the following website to contact and find out who your state legislators are: http://www.tenncare.org/involved/
citizenlobbyframeset.html

How can you help people in your community understand their health insurance rights?

Go to www.tenncare.org for more information on how to reform TennCare safely without cutting people off.


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Call U.S. Senator Bill Frist:
Toll-free 1-877-431-7083
Our US Senator has been silent on TennCare. Frist and Bredesen are both seen as national leaders in health care reform. They need to hear from you. Send letters, also.

CHURCHES:

Be informed...

• Could you open a clinic in your community?
• A new clinic is opened in Knoxville
• Volunteers are needed to organize TennCare Town Hall Meetings in every county in TN. Call 1-800-280-8682 to get a "How To" kit.

2. Call your state legislators. They are currently out of session and expect to be contacted at home. This link will help you find your two state legislators and their home phone numbers. You can also email all 132 state legislators or you can email a letter to just your State Senator and State Representative. However, emails are not going to be as effective as a phone call at this stage.
 
3. Write letters to the editor.
Write letters to the editor to your local newspaper. Be sure to include your name, address and phone number with every letter. The basic message is:
• Your personal story and how these cuts will hurt you and your family are the most effective letters;
• The lives of 323,000 people with serious medical conditions are at risk. The majority of people being terminated have very serious medical conditions;
• The safety-net will not help most people who are terminated. It is not a safety-net, it is more like a single rope;
• If they lose their health care coverage, local hospitals will become their primary care provider, which will be very costly in lives and in money; and
• TennCare is being badly managed; people cannot find doctors and prescription drugs are costing the state too much.