Contact your lawmakers
Sen. Todd Gardenhire, District 10 301 Sixth Ave. N. Suite 11A, Legislative Plaza Nashville, TN 37243 Email: sen.todd.gardenhire@capitol.tn.gov Sen. Bo Watson, District 11 301 Sixth Ave. N. Suite 13, Legislative Plaza Nashville, TN 37243 Email: sen.bo.watson@capitol.tn.gov Rep. Gerald McCormick, District 26 301 Sixth Ave. N. Suite 18A, Legislative Plaza Nashville, TN 37243 Email: rep.gerald.mccormick@capitol.tn.gov Rep. Patsy Hazlewood, District 27 301 Sixth Ave. N. Suite G-24, War Memorial Building Nashville, TN. 37243 Email: rep.patsy.hazlewood@capitol.tn.gov Rep. JoAnne Favors, District 28 301 Sixth Ave. N. Suite 35, Legislative Plaza Nashville, TN 37243 Email: rep.joanne.favors@capitol.tn.gov Rep. Mike Carter, District 29 301 Sixth Ave. N. Suite3G, War Memorial Building Nashville, TN 37243 Email: rep.mike.carter@capitol.tn.gov Rep. Marc Gravitt, District 30 301 Sixth Ave. N. Suite 107, War Memorial Building Nashville, TN 37243 Email: rep. marc.gravitt@capitol.tn.gov Rep. Dan Howell, District 22 301 Sixth Ave. N. Suite 112, War Memorial Building Nashville, TN 37243 Email: rep.dan.howell@capitol.tn.gov Rep. Kevin Brooks, District 24 301 Sixth Ave. N., Suite 103, War Memorial Building Nashville, TN 37243 Email: rep.kevin.brooks@capitol.tn.gov Rep. Ron Travis, District 31 301 Sixth Ave. N. Suite G-3 War Memorial Building Nashville, TN 37243 Email: rep.ron.travis@capitol.tn.gov
I've spent my entire career as a physician caring for Tennesseans. Helping patients understand and manage their medical conditions is both rewarding and challenging. But one of the greatest challenges my patients face is not really medical at all -- it's living without access to affordable health insurance. Now, Tennessee has an unprecedented opportunity to end that struggle for more than 200,000 Tennesseans.
Last month, Gov. Haslam made a brave proposal to provide health care coverage to uninsured Tennesseans through a program called Insure Tennessee. Insure Tennessee will provide health care for our friends and neighbors, stabilize our hospitals, and grow our economy. That's why across the state business leaders, concerned citizens and medical providers, including the Chattanooga Hamilton County Medical Society, support the plan.
Here's how it works:
For people who are working but not making quite enough to pay for their employer-based health plan, Insure Tennessee will provide assistance paying for that work health plan.
For people who don't have a plan through work or who decide insurance is still too costly, Insure Tennessee will offer affordable coverage through a private HMO -- the same HMOs that currently work with the state to cover people on TennCare.
These options will help uninsured Tennesseans finally have the peace of mind of affordable health care coverage. They will finally have access to the medical care they need to get and stay healthy, manage their chronic conditions, and live free from fear of bankruptcy from medical bills. Insure Tennessee offers a hand up to our neighbors in need.
But Insure Tennessee is not just important for the hundreds of thousands of Tennesseans who will get covered. It's good for all of us. The plan will help our hospitals and other health care providers, which are struggling to cope with uncompensated care (over $1 billion last year). Several of our state's hospitals have already closed.
Insure Tennessee will also be a huge boon for our economy. It will create an estimated 15,000 new jobs for Tennesseans, according to economists at the UT Center for Business and Economic Research.
And Insure Tennessee will not cost Tennessee taxpayers anything. There are no new taxes or added costs to the state budget. In fact, it will make sure that the federal taxes we pay will be used in our state, to help Tennesseans who need it. These dollars are already earmarked to help our state.
Our legislature will soon be meeting to vote on the governor's plan. I urge all my friends and neighbors to call their state legislators today. Tell them Tennessee needs Insure Tennessee. Now is the time to support our governor, our economy, and our neighbors.
Dr. Sienknecht has been a practicing physician in Chattanooga since 1975. He has served as president of the Chattanooga/Hamilton County Medical Society and still serves on the Medical Foundation board.