Nashville General Hospital could see a gap of $10.5 million and could lead to more problems for the hospital, which has struggled financially in the past, according to the report. Nashville General’s sister hospital, Regional Medical Center, see a $50 million operating loss as a result of the cuts.
Several advocacy groups have spoken out against the cuts, saying that uninsured or underinsured patients would suffer. According to the proposed cuts, in-patient hospital care would be capped at $10,000; occupational, physical and speech therapy would be eliminated; hospice care would be eliminated; and patients would be limited to eight non-emergency visits annually. Pregnant women and children would not be affected by many of the limits, according to the report.
Nashville General, the Tennessee Hospital Association, the Tennessee Association of Public and Teaching Hospitals and other hospitals in the state said they will work together to address solutions to the TennCare cuts if approved, according to the report.
The TennCare cuts have been on the table for two years and were supposed to take effect this year, but the federal stimulus package provided some relief, according to the report. Gov. Bredesen has proposed them to solve the state’s budget shortfall in the upcoming fiscal year. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services must approve the cuts before they go into effect.
Read the Tennessean’s report on the proposed TennCare cuts.
