“The Task Force set a June deadline to announce an alternative proposal, and we had hoped that a viable plan would be offered,” Walter Davis, executive director of the THCC, wrote in a letter, according to the report. The THCC is the state’s premier nonprofit consumer healthcare advocacy group and a leader in the healthcare justice movement. “However, after monitoring the meetings of the Task Force that have been held across the state, we are concerned that what has been discussed does very little to address the health coverage crisis facing the state.”
The letter was sent to Rep. Cameron Sexton (R) and House Speaker Beth Harwell (R), who prompted the creation the task force, called the 3-Star Healthy Project. Mr. Davis argued the committee has not been working on creating a plan that would alleviate the state’s uninsured problem and maximize the use of federal dollars, according to the report.
When the task force was formed, its primary objective was to identify ways to make TennCare, the state’s Medicaid program, more efficient and accessible, as well as create pilot projects that would phase in “conservative ideas” to change the program, according to the report.
The task force is expected to present a plan to CMS officials on June 21 in Washington, D.C., but a plan has yet to be finalized.
Despite criticism from the THCC, Rep. Sexton on Wednesday said the task force is working within the directions it was given and there have been “no surprises” on the committee’s direction.
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