Moving forward this fall.....






Dear THCC supporters:


These past few months have been incredibly challenging and confusing for us at THCC as individuals and as an organization, making it hard to know how to respond effectively to the recent and overwhelming events that may change the landscape of health care in our state and nation for years to come, independent of the outcome of one of the most critical elections in decades:
  • the racial, income, and health inequities revealed by the COVID pandemic in our state and across our nation [see our statement on Racism and Health Care]
  • the failures in our fragmented health care and public health "system" to mount an effective national response to that pandemic
  • the continued loss of essential health services in rural parts of our state due to hospital closures
  • the uncertainties around the future of the Affordable Care Act heightened by the passing of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and
  • the ongoing tragic, premature, and avoidable COVID-related illness and death that Tennessee families are suffering.

Our Board, staff and volunteers have taken time to reflect and prioritize the following ways that THCC can begin to respond. As faithful supporters of the Tennessee Health Care Campaign's efforts to ensure that ALL Tennesseans have access to equitable, affordable and quality health care, we want to share what we have planned for the next few months and invite you to participate in these efforts.


Participate in our UPCOMING CONFERENCE SERIES on Achieving Health Equity for All Tennesseans in an Era of Change

The 2020 THCC Conference will be held as a 4-part on-line series featuring topics on understanding the connections between racial injustice and health access and outcomes in our state, taking action to control health care costs and medical debt in Tennessee, strategies to halt rural hospital closures and rebuild rural health systems, and pending the outcome of the November elections, strategies for Closing the Coverage Gap in Tennessee. Your participation and feedback will help THCC set our agenda for 2021.

Each session will be held on a Saturday, from 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM Central Time.

• October 17th, "Health Equity, Racial Justice and Access to Health Care"

• October 24th, "No More Surprise Medical Bills! A Campaign End this Practice"

• October 31st, "Addressing Rural Health Disparities in Tennessee"

• November 14th, "Closing the Coverage Gap in Tennessee"

You can choose to attend one or more of the following sessions when you register by clicking here . More detailed information on each session, registration and sponsor links will be found on our new website: tnhealthcarecampaign.org. Watch for additional information on each session in coming weeks.

There is no charge for attending. If you or your organization are interested in sponsoring a session, please contact director@thcc2.org or visit the sponsorship page on our website.
SPREAD THE WORD ABOUT UPCOMING ACA OPEN ENROLLMENT PERIOD AND FEMA SPECIAL ENROLLMENT PERIOD FOR THOSE WHO EXPERIENCED COVID-RELATED INSURANCE LOSS

There is uncertainty on how the Supreme Court will rule on the fate of the ACA in the case now called California v. Texas (in which Tennessee's Attorney General is a litigant against the ACA). It will be argued on November 10 and probably decided in the late spring of 2021. It is our best assessment that contracts entered into with insurance carriers during Open Enrollment 2020 will be honored throughout 2021 no matter what the decision is. We are going all in to ensure that all eligible Tennesseans needing assistance will have the opportunity to gain coverage as our state's opioid and COVID crises grow.

We need your help letting folks know that Open Enrollment for 2021 between November 1 and December 15 is a GO . There is also a special enrollment period still available for 2020 coverage for people who lost their health coverage due to COVID-19 job loss or income changes. [People in this latter category do not have to wait until November 1 to enroll but can take action now. In some cases that coverage may be retroactive and able to cover expenses already incurred]. Please feel free to download our enrollment materials from our InsureALLTN program website, post them on social media, and in your communities.

THCC will continue to provide our statewide health care coverage hotline service-844-644-5443. We are preparing volunteers in next few weeks to answer calls live during daytime hours. Volunteers help callers by answering questions about eligibility, scheduling phone and in- person appointments for enrollment assistance with assisters across the state, and referring those in the Coverage Gap to safety net clinics and services. Tennesseans can also schedule their own phone appointments on our InsureALLTN program website. If you have a few hours a week you would be willing to contribute to this service, please let us know on our InsureALLTN site: https://insurealltn.com/volunteer.

Last year THCC staff and volunteers in East Tennessee, Chattanooga, Middle and West Tennessee assisted over 800 families enroll in ACA plans and 3,040 Tennesseans enroll in TennCare. We are on target to surpass those numbers this year and with your help we will!
Andrew Hawkins, now our Director of Enrollment Services and former THCC Navigator Meryl Rice have become licensed health insurance agents and THCC is now a not-for-profit Tennessee insurance agency. This will enable us to provide more complete and on-going support for folks we assist in enrolling in Qualified Health Plans. THCC staff and volunteers will continue to enroll folks in TennCare as well throughout the year.

For more information, please go to our InsureALLTN program webpages, by clicking here: https://insurealltn.com/
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