Dear THCC Supporter....
Thank you for your past support for the Tennessee Health Care Campaign. As I start my role as the new Executive Director, I am so glad to learn of your commitment to our mission of equitable, affordable, quality health care for all Tennesseans.
Make no mistake, we face enormous challenges. One in 10 Tennesseans is uninsured. Tennessee leads the nation in rural hospital closures per capita and we have one of the highest rates of medical debt in the country. The COVID 19 pandemic brings the inequities of our health care system into stark relief. Rural communities and communities of color are especially hard hit by the pandemic and our underfunded hospitals are struggling to keep up. COVID inflicts suffering and loss on families across our state, including those of treasured volunteers. Yet many Tennesseans, including some elected officials, deeply distrust the advice of Public Health experts.
The health policy landscape this past year was discouraging. Our Governor proposed transforming TennCare into a block grant program opposed by every health care organization in the State. A bill to expand TennCare to cover uninsured Tennesseans couldn’t even make it out of committee. Bills to protect health consumers from surprise medical billing got lost in stakeholder and partisan bickering at both the State and Federal level. And the Federal government slashed the funding we relied on for Affordable Care Act and TennCare enrollment assistance.
These problems are personal to me. As a health care Social Worker, I saw how our broken health care system affects the lives of poor and underserved Tennesseans. I will never forget the woman I tried to help get care for a new cancer diagnosis...
She was in the coverage gap: too young for Medicare, took sick for employer-based insurance, too poor to qualify for Affordable Care Act subsidies. In 38 other States she would qualify for Medicaid, but not Tennessee. She could not afford even the most basic diagnostic tests.
THCC is fueled by a determination that we can, and must, do better.
“Finding a way out of no way". That old saying could have been the mantra of health and social justice activists across our state for 2020. Tennessee Health Care Campaign was no exception.
In the absence of Federal funding to support enrollment, THCC transformed our enrollment assistance into a program with self-sustaining potential. We are starting to earn income from insurance carriers for the consumers we help enroll in the Affordable Care Act that we can invest into further outreach and advocacy. Based on progress to-date, THCC staff and volunteers will complete over 3,000 enrollments in 2020. COVID stopped our face-to-face enrollment assistance, but a dedicated group of volunteers answers our toll-free assistance line and schedules phone appointments. We provide invaluable trouble shooting to our TennCare applicants, and work successfully with TennCare to resolve many enrollment problems.
The final webinar in the series – Closing the Coverage Gap in Tennessee-will be held on January 16 at the start of the Tennessee legislative session and examine possible new legislative approaches. (If you are interested in registering for this event, click here).
THCC will also soon be releasing a white paper on achieving rural health equity in the wake of rural hospital closures. This policy brief will give voice to the many people we interviewed on our listening tour of rural communities and hopefully influence policy to improve rural health services.
We are seeing a glimmer of light at the end of a long tunnel of gridlock and inaction on health policy. With block grants off the table, and devastating COVID losses, both Federal and State lawmakers are taking a fresh look at expanding insurance coverage. But the fight will not be easy.
We need your help to make 2021 a year of positive change. We need a Campaign to fight for equitable, quality health care for all Tennesseans. We need to raise up the voices of people like you across the State. Your generous contribution of time, expertise, and financial support is crucial to our success.
Thank you for joining us in these efforts at whatever level is possible for you.
Judy Roitman
Executive Director
