TennCare Officials Ask Court To Suspend Lawsuit That Prevents Re-Evaluation Of Some Beneficiaries' Eligibility

Main Category: Medicare / Medicaid / SCHIP
Also Included In: Litigation / Medical Malpractice
Article Date: 27 Nov 2008 - 8:00 PDT

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TennCare officials have asked that courts grant them a suspension of a 20-year-old lawsuit that prevents the state from annually re-evaluating about 180,000 beneficiaries who may no longer be eligible for coverage, the AP/Tennessean reports. TennCare is the state's expanded Medicaid program.

Gov. Phil Bredesen (D) has requested that all state agencies reduce spending by as much as 15% to address a potential $800 million shortfall for fiscal year 2009. TennCare officials are looking to cut nearly $1 billion from the program, $400 million of which is state funding. If about half of the beneficiaries protected by the suit are found to be ineligible, as much as $200 million could be saved and the state could preserve benefits for those who do qualify for the program, according to TennCare Director Darin Gordon. Bredesen said, "I'm hoping to manage it so that the only people who lose any coverage are the ones who are not entitled to it."

However, Tennessee Justice Center Director Gordon Bonnyman said the lawsuit "simply requires the state to be fair and accurate in deciding whether to cut off TennCare to disabled and elderly people." He added, "For more than 20 years, the state has yet to develop a process to fairly review these individuals" (Johnson, AP/Tennessean, 11/25).

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