Tennessee to slash state health benefits for the needy

[deadparrot]

COLUMBIA, TENN. - Sitting hunched at their kitchen table strewn with papers, Loren and Shirley Ellis consider a grim choice: their home or their medicines.

The couple could sell their brick home in Columbia, Tenn., a rural town south of Nashville, and Mr. Ellis, a former restaurant owner, could return to work. That would provide enough cash for healthcare for his wife, diagnosed with ovarian cancer and bipolar disorder. Or Mrs. Ellis could give up chemotherapy and the eight medicines she takes daily. That's the prospect they face if Mrs. Ellis is dropped by TennCare, Tennessee's health plan for the poor and uninsured.

"You walk around your house and ask yourself, 'How long? How long am I going to be here?' " she says.

Many Tennessee households face a similar cutoff as the state proceeds with removing some 191,000 residents from its expanded Medicaid plan.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/csm/20050812/ts_csm/atenncare

[hadrons]

1. check out this ....

it was posted a few weeks ago by someone here who found it (huge thread)

Subject:
Please read this email. Please Mr. President.

To:
President George Bush

July 19, 2005

Dear President Bush. This is a first for me, to email an elected official of any caliber. I voted for you twice, because of your strong moral values. I'm begging you to use them now. My husband and I live in Tennessee. My husband has Alzhiemer's and Parkinson's disease, and Diabetes. I also have multiple medical problems. I'm also my husband's caretaker. We have been living on his Social Security check of $769.00, along with the help of Tenn Care and food stamps. At the end of this month we will lose our Tenn Care. We cannot afford to go to the dr., much less pay for our medications. I feel that my own government has let us down, while at the same time trying to support other countries, free other countries, etc. Why can't our State elected officials take a pay cut, or lose some of the perks paid for by tax payers, and keep poor people alive a while longer? What has gong wrong with our priorities? We say "Give us your poor your hungry" etc. What about our own poor and hungry? This is the first time in my 61 years of life I've been so angry and hurt by my own government. Please help us and the many others that are being forced to an early death because we are no longer productive.Thank you for your time.
Wilma

http://www.congress.org/congressorg/bio/userletter/?id=20004&letter_id=396563051&content_dir=politicsol

does Wilma honestly believe Bush gives a sh!t about her and her husband???

does Wilma really think that TN Legislators taking a pay cut (state legislators there make $16,500 and the Governor makes $81,000) will make a difference???

is Wilma so blind that she's begging for help from the man who's policies are forcing the state to eliminate their health benefits because they aren't receiving enough Federal aid to continue to fund them???

Red Staters (I'm not using the word geographically, but politically ... I call similar people living in "blue states" Red Staters) are the stupidest morons on the planet; the brain-dead have an excuse at least

[kwolf68]

4. Sorry lady

You helped put this guy into office....now live with it, all of us have to live with YOUR decision.

A public apology for voting for this POS is what it will take to get any sympathy from me.

[tnlefty]

7. Gov. Bredesen has passed on collecting his salary during his term

It's so much fun to live in this state. :sarcasm:

[VegasWolf]

25. Yes, the under the table payments were plenty! nt

[Iowa]

10. Yes - and another thing I have frequently observed...

Idiots like Wilma are always looking to bring other people down - instead of bringing themselves up. Although she specified "State elected officials" as her intended target for pay and benefit cuts, I suspect she meant State employees, and even if she didn't, I'm confident that she'd enthusiastically support an attack on State workers if someone suggested it to her. Rather than looking for a way to improve her miserable lot in life, she wants to bring others down closer to her wretched standard of living. And therein lies one of the biggest differences between progressives and the many whining, self-centered, self-defeating, knuckle dragging, working-poor who support the boy-king. These people have no idea of what is possible, and they are incapable of thinking outside the boundaries of their own meager, uneducated, constricted, backward, simplistic existence. They're too damn dumb to realize that the solution to their problems need not involve dragging the remnants of the middle-class down to their level, but even if they did understand, there's usually an element of mean-spiritedness in their thinking. If one could wave a wand and impoverish 10 families on Wilma's block, it wouldn't solve her problem, but it would almost certainly make her happier - because that's how these people think. If they suffer, they want others to suffer too. So they make perfect targets for Republican demagoguery. If poor, pathetic, old Wilma were wealthy, I have no doubt that she'd feel entitled to her riches, and would blame the poor for their lot in life. Wilma, and many of the red-state poor who think like her, are both dumb and mean-spirited. They are undeserving of sympathy. But they should receive medical care despite their idiocy.

That being said, the very idea of balancing budgets on the backs of the poor is pure evil. I never thought I'd live to see it, and it makes me sick.

[hadrons]

30. awesome post ....

I loved it

[Solly Mack]

2. Any nation that allows the poor to die simply because they're poor

is a nation that should never call itself great.

[lisby]

6. And this is just the beginning.

It's going to get much, much more obvious to even the dimmest or most devout that this is no longer a great nation as people they know actually start dying from diseases that could have been treated at minimal real cost.



:grr:


Lisby

[area51]

9. U.S.

We're a barbaric nation b/c we allow people to die of treatable diseases; we already pay enough in taxes to have universal healthcare but our tax $ are being sucked up by the military & by corporations & the rich not paying their fair share.

[PurityOfEssence]

3. Can't have an income tax; it's better to destroy society outright

This is why a society needs safety nets: the price of failure is just too high. Lucky and successful people may sneer at those who've hit a bad patch or truly screwed up, but the consequences are too great a disruption to society as a whole. We want people working, paying taxes and taking care of themselves. Much as a reactionary will squeal with joy to see someone fail (so they can feel superior) the costs will come back in many ways. Crime will go up, disease will flourish, sadness at witnessing the dispossessed will permeate our daily lives and screw up productivity, health care costs will go up and governmental monies will be spent coping with the disasters.

We have a responsibility to our fellow man, but since such arguments bounce off the hide of the average monarchist, we need to show how personal failure destroys society. It costs us all much more.

Tennessee just can't have an income tax. Those of us in blue states have to work and pay taxes to subsidize governmental intervention because these selfish primitives won't join the party and take care of themselves. It's nauseating.

[tnlefty]

11. If it's nauseating from afar, try living in it. The same nuts who

vote repug not only don't want an income tax, but no local taxes for schools, etc. Yet some of these same assholes who bitch about "entitlement programs", and thosed damned libruls and their social spending have been recipients of those social programs!! There's been a bunch whining about getting kicked off of TN Care, and the reductions in school lunch programs, etc. I am frequently amazed that I've gotten through another day without smacking them upside the head.

[PurityOfEssence]

44. You have my empathy

It's easy being a lefty in a coastal state with major cities: such encounters with the rest of the world tend to make one realize how different people are and how accommodating we need to be. Being a lefty in a left-leaning area is not as great an achievement as being one in the Bible Belt; being one where you are shows character.

It must drive decent people up the proverbial wall to endure this stuff on a regular basis. For us, who are taxed and support an infrastructure with a scrap or two of sincerity, the reward is to have the Federal Government divert our revenues to reactionary states who won't bother to take care of themselves. Funny how those most benefiting by social welfare are the ones who seem to hate it the most.

[ninkasi]

5. This is what happens

when people blindly vote for Republicans because they promise to lower taxes. I am far from being even middle class...in terms of money, I'm pretty far down there. Even I, though, would rather pay a few dollars more in taxes to see that other people don't have to choose between their home or their medicine.

Republicans have ruined our country, and our Democratic politicians, except for a precious few, have aided and abetted them in their relentless attacks on the poor and middle classes.

I realize that many of the ones being hurt voted for the ones who are destroying them, and while I lament their stupidity, I don't have the heart to relish being able to say "I told you so..." The trouble with pain like that being felt now by so many, is that it also causes pain to the ones who knew enough not to vote for their own executioners.

When will the country wake up, and realize how horribly, horribly wrong this whole administration is? When will they see that we are sending our citizens to die in a country which posed no threat to us? Why do we allow politicians to rob us blind, and keep voting for them over and over because they claim to be Christian and lower taxes, and nothing else seems to matter to some people, even as the ones they vote for keep rampaging and looting the treasury?

[saigon68]

38. Yes the DINOS like Liebermann are Lap Dogs to the NEOCONS

He is a SHILL

[Zorra]

8. This is what republicans do best. Soon, they will end Social Security

permanently. Republicans are corrupt, selfish, inhumane enemies of democracy and everything decent.

[FlemingsGhost]

12. Tennessee '04 election results: 57% Bush -- 42% Kerry. (n/t)

Flem.

[Cha]

18. Yeah, let's put that bush

bastard back in to really fuck things up the second time..he didn't quite get enough time for FUBAR!

[leftylady]

13. Missouri has really slashed stuff for the poor and disabled

Its pretty sad.

[damntexdem]

14. Ah, if the needy weren't so unhealthy, they wouldn't need that healthcare.

OK, get off your asses and get healthy!

Hey, the rich need that money to fund their drug habits, buy extra houses, and donate to Dubya.

[Joanne98]

15. Killing the poor ON PURPOSE! The new Christianty.......

[Soup Bean]

21. BULLSH*T. n/t

[NVMojo]

16. they are making it harder in the poor so they will enlist in the military

and be nuke fodder in the war on Iran ...

[guruoo]

23. What they're going to end up doing...

is turning this current civil
war from cold to hot..
It's just a matter of time, now.

[KamaAina]

17. Activists have been sitting in Gov. Bredesen's office for nearly 2 mos.

hmmm... 54 days and counting, Gov. threatens to cut off food and water to protesters, yet not a whit of coverage in MSM... oh, right, it's just people with disabilities, so who cares what they think? :sarcasm:

http://www.mcil.org/mcil/log/2005/tenncare.asp

[Soup Bean]

20. Tenncare is a HUGE problem in Tennessee.

It keeps GROWING and GROWING. People move here just to get health care, with which I sympathize. Governor Bredesen is not some monster who is trying to gut the poor; he's a DEMOCRATIC Governor in the SOUTH. He's smart, Harvard educated, reasonable, and HE REALLY DOES CARE ABOUT PEOPLE.

Don't demonize him or Tennessee. At least we've TRIED to implement a safety net for the poor. It's just sucking the state coffers dry. Governor Sundquist, A REPUBLICAN, tried to implement a state income tax and do away with taxes on food. A nationwide group of idiots came into Tennessee, complete with honking horns and crazy right-wing radio hosts at the State Capital. I even heard Limbaugh say on the radio..."way to go, Tennessee".

Bredesen is even a health care guy. He can't fix it. Advocacy groups have been unwilling to compromise to help him, and the state legislature is conservative (mostly Democratic, though). He has done everything he can do. Judge Nixon is trying to give relief, and Governor Bredesen is still trying, but he's not superman.

WE NEED A NATIONAL HEALTH CARE SYSTEM. STATES CAN'T DO IT ON THEIR OWN.

[proud2BlibKansan]

22. Tennessee needs an income tax

That would solve a lot of their problems.

[Wcross]

26. The problem is not many want one......

I don't know what it is about people in our state but a majority don't see the need for an income tax.

[proud2BlibKansan]

29. I don't think they have much right to complain

about cuts in programs while continuing to say no income tax. That is rather nutty.

[Wcross]

31. I said the majority of people don't seem to want an income tax.

Only one in five are on tenn-care. Those complaining about the loss of Tenn-care would be for an income tax and saving Tenn-care. An unfortunate majority don't seem to think we need an income tax and don't seem to care about Tenn-care. Solve that problem and I will vote for you as govoner!

Reality bites!

[SharonAnn]

32. Illiteracy and lack of education. I've been amazed the five years

I've been here in East Tennessee and low level of education "on average" of many residents. There are plenty of strong * supporters, though.

The illiteracy rate in our country is over 25%. Out of 40,000 populations in the county, 4,000 college educated northerners have moved here in the last 15 years. Without that population, the illiteracy rate would be closer to 28%.

And keep in mind, we're talking about an extremely low level of reading skills that qualifies one as "literate".

So, once again I say, "We've absolutely got to improve the education system here."

Then of course, there are the "conservative" churches and all the people here who home-school their children so that they "learn to be a good christians."

Sigh! It's the only place I've ever lived where education is rarely respected. Having an advanced degree sometimes makes other people suspicious of you.

I've lived all over the country and this is different from anything I've ever experienced before.

[Soup Bean]

36. East Tennessee and especially Northeast Tennessee are the IRISH.

First government west of the applachians was formed here. Mostly Irish settlers, sent down here during the War Between the States. Tried to start their own State of Franklin, with Jonesborough as its capital.

The ultimate outsiders. That's us. We love a good pub fight, a good arguement, good music, and a great debate. We love to fight. But we're good folks. Watch some of us....come to Jonesborough Days and the Appalachian Fair. Come to the National Storytelling Festival. Come to see "The Wataugans" and see how westward expansion began. See our pristine rivers, lakes and mostly unspoiled countryside. Meet us. Flyfish and canoe with us. Learn to quilt, to make apple butter, to enjoy sweet tea.

Sure, we've got a bunch of churches. But most of them aren't nuts. They're a little aggravating to deal with, but if you're honest they'll let you in and you'll have no better supporters, EVER, even if they don't agree with you fully. As long as they TRUST you, you'll be ok, because they'll be praying for you to to even better, because you're a good person.

Then form your own opinions.

[MountainLaurel]

41. A grad school classmate

In that locality told us a story one evening in class about the fight over the creation of a program for second-language immersion at the elementary school level. I believe this was around Oak Ridge, which one would think would have a more educated populace. Even though the funding was there, the program was never created because there was such huge opposition from the public, who just didn't think it necessary or welcome that their children learn a second language. There was a lot of "This is America, why should my kid know Spanish" talk.

I grew up in the sticks, but I just couldn't imagine anyone thinking it was a bad thing to know another language.

:wtf:

[Megahurtz]

19. This Country is Fucking Insane!

:mad:

[Wcross]

24. Is there any other State that has a similar program that works?

I believe I heard that 1 in 4 of our citizens were on Tenn-care. (It may have been one in five).

Let me tell you about a former co-worker. His name is Tim. Tim worked at the same job I work at. We have a pretty good health plan for singles and a GREAT health plan for guys like Tim. Tim was a fundy who believed god would decide how many children he and his wife would have. At age 35 he had 9 kids in his household. He only had to pay around 100-150 a month for coverage. One of his children has diabetes which is quite expensive. He was able to quit a decent job to be at home with his family, in part because of Tenn-care. Good for Tim, bad for the program.

There are numerous cases of non-residents on the program (Living in as far away places such as the former Soviet Union). Many businesses’s don't offer a health plan because of the availability of Tenn-care or because employees aren't worried about health coverage (see the deal on Tim above). The activists won't budge and the State can't afford to continue the program as it was designed. Those that qualify for Medicare and Medicaid will not lose anything.

My hope is the program is redesigned and laws are passed forcing employers to offer group health plans.

Now, I want you to name a health care program as ambitious as Tenn-Care was and had a participation rate of 20- 25% of the states population.

[SharonAnn]

33. Also, the insurance lobbyists got the insurance licensing regs

loosened when TennCare was originally passed so that they could turn down people for insurance because they'd be covered by TennCare.

Other states require insurance companies to do a better job of proving coverage to the population, not just to the wealthy who are healthy.

Tennesse - we have the best legislature that money can buy!

[gizmo1979]

27. Tenn doesn't have a state tax do they?

Am I right on that?I also heard their property taxes were relatively low.Couldn't fellow tennessee n's give up Little for the greater good?If not,that's not a very christian way of thinking is it?

[peacebuzzard]

28. I believe from what I have read..the max no. of meds is 5.

That is the max amount of coverage you get for state financed prescription meds.

[Erika]

34. Nashville and Memphis exudes wealth

It's truly sad that we treat the lesser among us so badly when there are so many rich elitists.

[CAG]

35. Speechless.... How does one not connect the dots when they

write something like this???? Since when has a repub cared a hoot about funding programs like Medicaid adequately???? What cave has she been living in???

Her state is hosting the "justice sunday II" this sunday; why doesn't she go up to that arena filled with the best of the christian right and see what they say about her and the Medicaid situation?? I'm sure their sympathy would overwhelm her (not).

[ngGale]

37. Oh, but Bush would never hurt poor and sick people ...

he's a fristian man. Cutting off federal funding had nothing to do with him, it's all the state's fault.:sarcasm:

[Giant Robot]

39. How many times do we have to hear

these stories before we as a nation rise up and make health care a right not a privilege?? I am so tired of hearing these stories. We should have had a basic health care safety net years ago. And almost every week there is another story like this and still no one does anything.
BTW hi everyone! Angry social worker on the boards now.

[Tsiyu]

40. The TennCare problem is complex and massive

Mucho fraud, lots of folks bilking the system, getting something for nothing. People LOVE something for nothing, especially those who turn around and lambast the poor. The Tenncare program was intended for the poor, you see, but whenever some folks see $$$$$$$ they forget the INTENT of things and they start concocting plans to get their piece of the $$$ pie.

Bredesen has tried to revamp the system, but he is attacked on all sides whatever he does. Dropping all of these enrollees is the last resort before the state goes bankrupt.


A retired friend recently got her notice- she takes 18 different meds - and she is now sending off letters to the pharm industry to beg for help. LOL. (The Pharm cos, with their overpriced drugs, are part of the problem, IMO.) So I see firsthand the suffering this decision is causing.

As to taxes, I pay close to 10% taxes on food in Tennessee, while Georgia is taking the tax off food gradually. Believe me, the amount I pay yearly for taxes on food is much more than I ever paid for a year's tax on my income in Georgia.

[shantipriya]

42. The Needy

I hope these retards realize that Bush is using them to enrich his wealthy friends whose moral values are opposite to theirs.

[DrBloodmoney]

43. Who needs healthcare...

... when you've got prayer. Of course, gOD will cure all your ills. Can't walk... bam! you're healed. Got cancer... bam! tumor-b-gone.

Who needs stem-cells. gOD didn't create stem-cells did he? It don't say so in my here bible.

[Zhade]

45. This country is just so wrong.

NT!