Small Bus. Owner Listening Tour-Jackson TN, 8/27/09

Jackson Library – back meeting room. 6 to 7:30 pm. Light refreshments will be served.

TennCare Oversight Committee 8/20/09-1:30-3:30 pm

TennCare Oversight Committee Meeting

August 20, 2009

1:30 PM – 3:30 PM

Legislative Plaza, Room 12

Nashville, Tennessee

Agenda

Tony Garr, Executive Director, Tennessee Health Care Campaign

1. Cluster Daniels Consent Decree/SSI Group – Enrollee Impact

Scott Pierce, Chief Financial Officer, Bureau of TennCare

Tracy Purcell, Director of Member Services, Bureau of TennCare

Brent Antony, Chief Information Officer, Bureau of TennCare

Keith Gaither, Director of Managed Care Operation, Bureau of TennCare

1. Cluster Daniels re-verification process

• How many enrollees are losing benefits?
• What are the cost-savings associated with enrollees losing benefits?
• How does the Bureau of TennCare plan to use savings?

1. Update on opening enrollment for the Standard Spend down category
2. Update on Medicaid Management Information System contract

Transportation Issue

1. Discuss unresolved transportation issues regarding Tennessee Carriers Inc
2. Fred Moody, Moody’s Transportation Inc, will address contractual issues that the company is    experiencing while providing non-emergency transportation services.

SBO Legislative Call 8/20/09

Call with policy expert Terry Gardiner of Small Business Majority from 11:30 am to 12:30 pm.

1-888-617-3400 passcode: 362716# PIN: 899760

Counting Each Newly Uninsured American Until Reform Happens

 

The number above is in addition to the 47 million uninsured counted prior to January 2008.

Bust-A-Myth, Weekly Wrap-up

Summer 2009: On Call for Health Care Reform

THCC’s Weekly Wrap-up

Friday, July 31, 2009

“The dictionary is the only place that success comes before work. Hard work is the price we must pay for success. I think you can accomplish anything if you’re willing to pay the price.” –Vince Lombardi

A marathon, not a sprint:  Stay focused, celebrate good work, keep taking one more step

We set the goal to get bills to the floor in each Chamber for a vote by the August recess. This is not going happen. But it does not mean that there hasn’t been progress, or that things are going downhill, or that this struggle is close to over. That’s what the “Do Nothings” are hoping we will believe.

We are moving forward and must keep supporting each other in moving forward. THCC has an August Action strategy to keep us moving forward (see next section).

Accomplishments:

>> 400+ committee hearings on health care in Congress this year.

>> At this writing, 2 of the 3 key committees in the House have voted HR 3200 out and word is the other committee will vote it out before the House goes home for the August recess.

>> The Senate HELP committee has its bill out and Senate Finance has another week to pass its bill out before the Senate breaks for recess.

>> Tennessee activists and their counterparts across the nation have answered the call and made the calls to Congress. At the beginning of July, anti reform calls were eclipsing pro reform calls. As August begins, calls have equalized. FAB!!!

>> Statewide, about three dozen letters to the editor and op eds have been published by THCC supporters in the last several weeks as well as THCC and other partners appearing in many news stories. AMAZING!!!

KUDOS to THCC volunteers in the Tri Cities who had a pro reform rally in Bristol, VA on Wednesday in conjunction with President Obama’s Health Care Town Hall meeting for Kroger employees.

 

 “A hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles.” –Christopher Reeves

…..

BUST THE MYTH: “Health reform calls for killing seniors.”  “Seniors Beware: A bureaucrat will show up on your door step and ask you to sign-up for euthanasia.”

First of all, HOW ABSURD! No member of Congress would openly call for that. Second, if anyone did, the national press would be all over it!

Related:  “Seniors will lose Medicare benefits.” Absolutely untrue. Private Medicare Advantage Plans will get a 14 percent funding reduction—right now they are funded 17 percent higher than traditional Medicare (the Medicare Seniors like). There will be some restructuring of provider payments to make program more efficient.

 

BUST A MYTH: “Health reform will pay for abortions.”

Not true. The bills moving through Congress make NO mention of abortion or any other specific medical procedure, for that matter.

 The bills do not change the Hyde amendment (which bars federal funds for abortion in almost all cases), any other laws that ban the use of federal dollars to pay for low-income women’s abortion care, or current-law “conscience” protections. In fact, the House just passed its annual funding bill that renews multiple abortion restrictions each year!

 The bills do not change state restrictions on abortion such as those mandating parental consent or notice. Claims that all private-insurance plans will be required to cover abortion are unfounded. No health plan “mandates” abortion. Each plan decides whether to include abortion in its benefits package.

…..

 August Action:  Direct Action

No Vacation for Tennessee’s Congressional Delegation

SAVE THE DATE! SHOW UP!  “It’s About You & Me & Tennessee” THCC Rally for National Health Care Reform, Thursday, August 13, 4-6:30pm, Centennial Park Entrance, West End Ave., Nashville.  Contact: Christiana, ckretchik@thcc2.org

Make Sen. Corker and other members of Congress your BFF!    In July, members of Congress got very familiar with our voices over the phone as we called & told them what we wanted.  In August, they will get familiar with our faces as we will be showing up to public meetings around the state to make sure national health care reform and the truth about it is front and center.

Be a part of the THCC’s August Action ’09 Trainings & Actions, contact the THCC Organizer in your region:

East TN: Beth @ buselton@thcc2.org

Mid & SE TN: Christina @ ckretchik@thcc2.org

West TN: Emily@ esnyder@thcc2.org  

 

 “We must remember that one determined person can make a significant difference, and that a small group of determined people can change the course of history.” – Sonia Johnson

 …..

CHECK OUT FAMILIES USA FABULOUS TOOL KIT!  USE IT!

http://www.familiesusa.org/august-recess-tool-kit/

 …..

What About Me? Message to the Middle & the Insured

Most Americans have health insurance, and many are concerned that health care reform will help only the uninsured. New polling shows that of Americans who support health reform, 30 percent think it will help them and 70 percent think it will help someone else.  This is a big reason why the Darth Vader devotees are having some effect with “disrupting the Force” through negative messages that prey on middle-class fear.

What does an average middle-class American Fear: Fear that reform will cause me to lose what I have (even though it may not be great). Fear that reform will cause me to lose my doctor. Fear that it won’t provide the security I crave. And so forth.

Starting today and going forward, we must “talk” to working class Tennesseans who have insurance. We do this though letters to the editor, conversations with neighbors, discussions at meetings, through presentation, interviews with media – anywhere and any time we are talking about health care reform, we must talk about it in terms of “Security & Stability for America’s Middle Class” and “Security with Choices.”

Tap into key values the public places on reform:

» Stability and peace of mind

» The middle class

» Choice and control

» Quality

» Continuity—keeping your current plan and doctor

» Value—paying less and getting more

» Affordability

» Patriotism—“uniquely American solution”

>> This is about Americans, not politicians / not insurance companies.

Details of this strategy and practical tips found @ THCC’s website’s “What’s Hot” page   http://thcc2.org/WhatsHot/home.html 

Questions? Contact: Susan @ smckay@thcc2.org

 ….

That’s the latest for now. Have a good week-end. 

 

 

 

 

10 Good Things

1)    Our Congress has put forward a truly American solution that guarantees affordable access to quality health care insurance for every American. Everybody will have choices of coverage. If you like your doctor and your plan, you keep it. If you don’t like what you have, or have nothing, you will shop from a marketplace of health insurance choices, private and public.

 

2)     There will be shared responsibility.  Health insurance companies will no longer be allowed to deny Americans coverage because of pre-existing conditions.  Likewise, every American will be required to get health insurance. This will ensure we pool risk and remove the burden of uncompensated care that is passed along to the insured and hospitals under our current system.

 

3)    The middle-class will get much needed help to afford health insurance. Reform will provide premium assistance to individuals and families earning up to $90,000 per year.

 

4)     Medicaid will finally enter into the 21^st century with common-sense eligibility for all impoverished adults—men and women, married and single, with or without children. In Tennessee, the equity of this will be immediately understood as currently only low-income women who are pregnant or have breast or cervical cancer can qualify for Medicaid. A poor man with prostate cancer or single woman with heart disease is out of luck—but their luck will change with reform.

 

5)     Small businesses, the backbone of our economy, will receive subsidies to help them provide medical benefits to their employees. Business owners understand the importance of a healthy workforce, but are overwhelmed by the rising costs of health care. The reform will provide much needed security.

 

6)    Health insurers will be required to use 85 percent of premiums toward medical care or reimburse the consumer. Currently, only up to 60 percent of premiums go toward care, with the rest going to marketing and administrative costs.

 

7)     Health insurance companies will be required to tell consumers up front what the maximum out-of-pocket costs will be for a given plan.  The caps will be between $5,000 and $10,000 per year, and less for those with very low income. With Tennessee ranking #1 in personal bankruptcies, half or more due to medical debt, this is very good news.

 

8)     We will have the choice of a public health insurance plan that will help fuel market competition and break-up the near-monopolistic health insurance industry. Consumers will get better value for their money with choices of private and public insurance.

 

9)    Health care reform is an investment of $1 trillion over ten years, or $100 billion a year, as opposed to $2.2 trillion per year we now pay with 47 million uninsured and escalating costs to the insured. We annually spend nearly $8,000 per capita on health care, yet every other capitalist democracy covers all their citizens for half or less of what we pay. 

 

10)  Our Congress and the President have come up with an American solution that brings our health care system into the 21^st century and are acting with a sense of urgency because they know that American families and businesses cannot wait.

Senate HELP Committee Passes “Affordable Health Choices Act”

Link to press release and bill @ http://help.senate.gov/

This bill will now move to the Senate floor.

Obama: Read Your Own Lips

Well, folks, the proverbial rubber is about to meet the road….

Staunch Do Nothings aside, from the Belt Way to the Heartland, from Wall St. to Main St., from doctors to patients–most Americans have long concluded that our health care system is ailing and needs holistic healing. While there remains disagreement about some of the cure, this is not what will determine if the patient improves or not. No. Like it or not, as with most things in our society, it all comes down to money. The cost of proposed reform ranges from just under $1 trillion to $1.6 trillion over ten years. So, how will we pay for it?

There are several good resources that offer ideas on how to pay for reform and I can offer no better ideas.  What I can offer is  a cautionary tale about voters and political promises, particularly where taxes are concerned:

President Obama surely remembers George H. Bush’s “read my lips” pledge about no new taxes.  He surely remembers that during the presidential campaign he solemnly promised that families earning $250,000 or less per year would not see their taxes–any type of federal taxes–go up in any way–nada, zip, nowayo.

Moreover, he made this pledge at the same time  he was running ads accusing Sen. McCain of supporting taxing health care benefits.

Fast forward eight months….

Now, members of the president’s own party are pitching the idea of capping deductions on health care benefits–which basically means allowing more of the benefit to be taxed thus raising tax revenue from it. Such plans would impact families making less than $250,000. BTW: Tom Dashcle is one proponent. C’mon!  Do the Democrats really want a tax evader leading this charge?

President Obama says the tax-cap option remains on the table, despite his personal objection.  Personal objection? Sorry, sir, no. When it comes to politicians making pledges of no new taxes to voters and then trying to back pedal once elected–regardless of the merits or necessity–it never turns out well. Voters may forgive some pledges, such as saying “I’m a uniter not a divider” and then dividing both the nation and world; or fabricating evidence to go to war. But they never take kindly to broken tax promises.

It matters not that President Obama is simply saying: all options are on the table. Or that he is not saying he supports the tax option proposal.  Taxes are never about  logic or facts. Taxes are about emotions and perceptions. Otherwise, Americans would not believe the myth that Republicans are, and have been, better fiscal stewards than Democrats. Just look at the factual increase in the national debt during the Reagan, Bush I, and Bush II years. No matter, the belief remains. So, Mr. President, don’t be surprised at the mounting blacklash to perceived back pedaling on your “no new taxes” pledge.

Taxes remain the radical Rights’ unifying battle cry. Tax Tea Parties are in vogue around the country, with Nashville hosting one just this week.  Now, don’t get me wrong.  I understand that this group is made up of a few Do Nothings, but Do Nothings with big connections and deep pockets that afford the ability to create the perception of majority will.  President Obama should stick to his tax pledge and not add heavy-duty fuel to a fire that now wanes after two-plus decades of a Right-wing scorched earth agenda.

The other side to this coin is the mantra we reformers, including Mr. President, have been chanting:  ”If you like what you have you can keep it.”  The implication being that people who are content with their private plans need not fear change, especially change that would leave them with less, or less well off, than they are now. The implication goes further when tied to the idea of choices. Americans want choices in care. They want the ability to choose to keep what they have or choose to change.  Capping the amount of benefits not subject to tax will indeed force some to give up what they have and they will not have a choice in the matter.

This may sound trite.  But the emotional impact of fear–the fear of losing what one has (even if it may not be good) is so powerful that it was a large reason health reform failed in 2003.  All the messaging gurus know this, including Obama’s people.

Let Congressional Dems and others talk about taxes.  Let them pass reform bills with such ideas, if they can. Please, Mr. President, steer clear of  tax trap.  

 

How To Pay for Reform?

Why the cost of doing nothing is too costly

CBPP – Several articles

Urban Institute

Call Congress July 7 & 8th!

American health reform is sizzling like the July sun! Call-in actions to Congress on July 7th and 8th. Message is simple: “Time for playing politics is over! We want health coverage that is guaranteed and affordable for everyone!

Call your members of Congress toll free: 1-866-210-3678.

The Tennessean’s “featured” natl reform story a disappointment

Is it any wonder newspapers are going down? At the dawning of the most significant national health care legislation in more than 40 years, you would think that when  Tennessee’s leading daily decides to feature the topic in its Sunday edition it would delve into details and provide in-depth commentary from policy experts who would help its readers to better understand the debate.

But in typical fashion of today’s “journalism,” The Tennessean looks to a Do Nothing like Rep. Marcia Blackburn, who has no health care policy expertise and who is among a small minority of regressive extremists, whose numbers are shrinking fast and whose sole purpose is to impede progress of any kind and harp the tired old “wa-wa-wa-wa, wa-wa-wa.”

The Tennessean had a chance to engage its readers about the historic public policy debate, but instead took its cue from the Faux News model and set up the typical dichotomy of “Progressive -v- Regressive,” using a single component, public health insurance plan, to weigh in.  And it carried this Faux coverage to its predicable end by excluding comment from “progressive” Tennesseans to counterbalance Corker and Blackburn. Really!?!

http://www.tennessean.com/article/20090614/BUSINESS01/906140391/America+hopes+for+health+solutions

To his credit, reporter Gethan Ward did interview Sen. Bob Corker, a conservative proponent of reform.  However, the reader wouldn’t know by the story that Corker is on record as saying that we have a moral obligation to cover everybody and that we must pass national reform this year in order to get costs under control.  I think readers would have liked to know this.  Blackburn is actually out of step with her own party–most Republicans along with Democrats believe the cost of doing nothing is more harmful than the up front costs to cure our broken health care system–therefore unacceptable.

Other pieces of interest in The Tennessean:

Faces of Health Care Crisis:

http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/gallery?Avis=DN&Dato=20090612&Kategori=NEWS01&Lopenr=906120823&Ref=PH

Health-care reform demands more of us:

http://www.tennessean.com/article/20090615/OPINION03/906150314/1054/Health-care+reform+demands+more+of+us