Robin Smith’s commentary on the June 20 Free Press editorial page failed to give a complete assessment of Gov. Haslam’s proposals to expand TennCare. His proposal was not “free” to new members and was designed to prevent any new expenses to Tennessee taxpayers.
After extensive negotiation with Washington, Tennessee received significant concessions: 1) new enrollees would be required to pay modest premiums for their coverage and would be disenrolled if they did not pay, 2) they would be required to pay copays on prescriptions, office visits and emergency room visits, and 3) there would be financial incentives to encourage healthy behaviors.
The federal government would initially pay all of the cost of expansion, but by 2020 states would be required to pay 10 percent of the cost. He reached an agreement with the Tennessee Hospital Association (THA) to pick up the 10 percent.
Haslam’s plan would automatically terminate if either Washington or the THA did not keep their promise. About 300,000 Tennesseans would get their cancer screenings and have their blood pressure and diabetes treated instead of coming to our emergency rooms with strokes, heart failure and incurable cancers.
B.W. Ruffner, M.D., Signal Mountain