City of Chattanooga
Mayor Andy Berke
April 8, 2019
Dear Governor Bill Lee, Speaker Casada and Lt. Governor McNally,
Recently, Tennesseans learned that nearly 130,000 of our state’s most vulnerable children had
lost their state-provided health insurance, including approximately 5,500 in Hamilton County
alone. I am deeply troubled, as I am sure you are, at these numbers and the impact on the
families they represent. I can not fathom the fear felt by parents who have been seeking care --
sometimes emergency care -- for their sick or injured children, only to be told at a doctor’s office
or a hospital that their coverage has been taken from them.
‘TennCare and CoverKids exist to provide our state’s low-income families and children with,
reliable health insurance. In the last two years, I out of every 8 children enrolled in one of these
programs has been un-enrolled, triggering an enormous increase in the percentage of uninsured
children and further destabilizing our most economically fragile families.
I cannot accept this outcome.
This needless hardship not only keeps people sicker, it leads families into potential financial
calamity as they incur punishing debts or forgo other expenses to get their children the medical
attention they need. I recognize that this problem was not created overnight and is largely the
by-product of previous general assemblies and governors. However, I also recognize that you all
are uniquely positioned to stop this from happening to more Tennessee families and make it right
for those that have been unnecessarily un-enrolled.
This is why I am asking for your help to make this right for these families by:
= Stop disenrolling kids from their healthcare until the process can be reformed. The
current process of disenrolling is fraught with pitfalls that even the most diligent parent
with tons of time on their hands would find difficult to navigate. For example, notices are
mailed without any forwarding instructions in case the recipient has moved. The
addresses being used are sometimes years old and have not been cross referenced with
101 E. 11th Street * Chattanooga, Tennessee 37402
(423) 643-7800 + FAX: (423) 643-7817 + E-MAIL: mayor@chattanooga.govother databases like SNAP. To avoid more working families absorbing the cost of what
should be covered, like procedures and doctor visits, I ask that the state immediately
suspend disenrollments until the process can be fixed. The burden of these operational
errors and choices should fall to state -- not Tennessee's working families
- Prioritize coverage for qualified families. There are families who have been dropped
because of the states internal procedures of re-enrollment. They still meet all the
necessary qualifications and the state should make it a priority to ensure they receive the
coverage they are qualified for.
~ Begin oversight hearings in the General Assembly to identify all the problems
related to disenrollment. One specific measure would be to reinstate the TennCare
Oversight Committee of the General Assembly, a body that could provide rigorous and
consistent oversight of TennCare’s implementation, which was decommissioned by your
predecessors. Regardless, legislators should probe the lack of responsibility in the
system: all of the reasons why disenrollment is occurring and other errors that TennCare
hhas made that have resulted in this problem
Over the past several weeks, I have heard stories of parents who did not receive their renewal
notice in the mail, Others told me that they moved within the past year, only to find out that their
renewal packet had been mailed but was ~ per the state’s instruction -- not allowed to be
forwarded to their new address. Still others reported that they had received their 98-page renewal
packet, completed the necessary forms, and returned them, only to then go months without
hearing from TennCare staff.
The good news for the 130,000 low-income Tennessee children who are currently without health
care is that together we can fix the situation. As Mayor, I am prepared to take whatever steps are
necessary to help. My staff and I have already started doing outreach to our constituents who
may have been disenrolled to help them get the coverage they need. I am now asking you to
provide the necessary leadership to make sure every Tennessee gets covered and stays covered.
On behalf of thousands of children in Chattanooga who need care now, I look forward to helping
however I can.
a Bere
City of Chattanooga