NASHVILLE — Tennessee Hospital Association President Craig Becker warned Tuesday that any new state cuts to TennCare provider reimbursements will derail the group’s proposal to charge a 3.52 percent fee to its members.
The fee is designed to offset previously planned TennCare reductions.
“This is about as far as we can go,” Mr. Becker said. Further cuts “will ruin the deal for sure.”
Last week, Republican Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey, the Senate speaker who is running for governor, said he opposed Gov. Phil Bredesen’s latest plan to lift a sales tax cap on big-ticket items to close an $85 million state revenue gap.
The Blountville lawmaker listed additional cuts in TennCare provider reimbursements among possible alternatives to the sales tax.