Tenn.'s Retreat On Medicaid Points toStruggle-Cuts May Signal Nat'l Trend

[papau]

As medicaid goes down the tubes - in Tennessee 323,000 of the working poor have been cut— Bush spends us into a huge National Debt and fights to cut Soc Security. Indeed Tennessee still "cares" as its medicaid will be covering a higher portion of the working poor than nationally, and its budget as a percent of the State budget remains large, but Tenn thought they should include immunizations and AIDS care, and did not spend much on other public health investments, such as community clinics and health departments - and it looks like money for these may never be coming from a GOP led Federal Government.

But the Bush family is not done - Florida's Gov. Jeb Bush has proposed giving Medicaid clients vouchers for private health coverage, making Florida the first state to let insurers set benefits for poor clients.

And this week, New York Gov. George E. Pataki (R) is scheduled to slash $1 billion from his state's Medicaid program.


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A16471-2005Jan17.html


Tenn.'s Retreat On Medicaid Points to Struggle
Planned Cuts May Signal National Trend
By Ceci Connolly
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, January 18, 2005; Page A03


NASHVILLE -- They staged a die-in here Wednesday night -- to mourn the demise of one of the nation's most innovative health insurance programs for the working poor and to dramatize what advocates say will be the human toll of a bitter government decision.

On Jan. 10, Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen, a Democrat elected in 2002 on a promise to rescue TennCare, announced he is cutting 323,000 low-income adults from the program and limiting services for 400,000 others. Like many other governors, Bredesen said that Tennessee's expanded Medicaid program is devouring the state budget and that he cannot afford what had been hailed as one of the most generous government health plans in the nation.

"It might not be the level of care we want to provide, but it's the level of care we can afford without bankrupting our state," said Bredesen, a former mayor who made millions as a managed-care executive.

The announcement sent shivers through health care advocates nationwide who see in TennCare's retreat the start of a bleak trend to scale back government-paid care at the same time the private sector is trimming benefits. A day later, Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R) proposed giving Medicaid clients vouchers for private health coverage, making Florida the first state to let insurers set benefits for poor clients. And this week, New York Gov. George E. Pataki (R) is scheduled to slash $1 billion from his state's Medicaid program.

As President Bush attempts to cut the federal deficit in half within five years, governors are girding for battle. Though eager to restructure Medicaid, the joint state-federal health program for low-income Americans, the National Governors Association warned last month it would oppose "any deficit reduction strategy to simply shift federal costs to the states."
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