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Hicky letter confirms: State can afford to restore coverage now
Savings from basic pharmacy management exceed projections

In an October 6, 2005 letter to Governor Phil Bredesen, Commissioner J.D. Hickey announced very good news regarding TennCare’s financial health and management. The letter reveals that the state is saving at least $324 million annually through better management of TennCare’s pharmacy program – savings that are purely from management, not from cutting enrollment or limiting medicines. Further, these are the very same management tools that TennCare advocates have supported for many years.

Governor Bredesen and Commissioner Hickey should be congratulated for this achievement, and should claim this victory in a tangible and life-saving way. <read the full article>

TennCare Cuts are about choice, not necessity
Show me the money

$1.2 billion - the amount of federal health care dollars that Tennessee is giving back to the federal government this year alone.

$200 million - the amount in budget surplus for this year.

$200 Million - the amount in TennCare reserves.

$400 million - the amount in the state Rainy Day Fund.

$1 Billion - the amount of reserves in the bank account of BlueCross BlueShield, the main insurance contractor running the TennCare program.

$1.5 billion - the amount of federal Medicaid relief New York’s Governor and Senators got for their state.

$774 million - the amount of federal Medicaid relief Louisiana’s Governor and Senators got for their state.

$900 million - the amount of federal Medicaid relief Alabama’s Governor and Senators got for their state.

The value of a human life? PRICELESS.

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