NASHVILLE — Gov. Phil Bredesen unveiled a proposed overhaul of long-term care today, saying it will simplify access to home and community-based services and expand the number of elderly and disabled Tennesseans able to stay home.
The legislation “fundamentally restructures” how long-term care is provided through the state’s TennCare program. In doing so, it promotes greater choice, the governor said.
“At its core ... this is about keeping people in their homes as long as they want to remain in their homes, and it’s driven for me by this experience with my own mother,” Gov. Bredesen told reporters during a briefing. “It’s so clear to me that she would go to any lengths to stay at home.”
Gov. Bredesen, a Democrat, said he has been working with both Democrats and Republicans in the Legislature and expects to have bipartisan backing for the measure.
For complete details, see tomorrow’s Chattanooga Times Free Press.
Andy Sher is a Nashville-based staff writer covering Tennessee state government and politics for the Times Free Press. A Washington correspondent from 1999-2005 for the Times Free Press, Andy previously headed up state Capitol coverage for The Chattanooga Times, worked as a state Capitol reporter for The Nashville Banner and was a contributor to The Tennessee Journal, among other publications. Andy worked for 17 years at The Chattanooga Times covering police, health care, county government, ...
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