TN General Assembly

Last Wednesday, the Coalition hosted a press conference at the Capitol in Nashville with Andy Imparato, Executive Director of the American Association of People with Disabilities, and other about the proposed Amendment 9 cuts to TennCare.  In a packed room the media and advocates heard about propose cuts that would:

• Limit in-patient hospital services to $10,000 annually
• Limit coverage to 8 visits to a physician's office annually
• Eliminate coverage of hospice care
• Eliminate coverage for occupatoinal, speach, and physical therapies
• Among others reductions

Media Reports of the Event

News 4 Report - Jessica Pipkin is the face of thousands who have already seen the impact of TennCare cuts. She's a quadriplegic, and the loss of her 24-hour nursing care could force her to leave her family. To read more.

News 4 Video - Video link.

News 5 Report - The head of a national advocacy group for the disabled said Tennessee's proposed cuts to its expanded Medicaid program could eventually have a negative effect on the state's economy. To read more and see video.

News 17 Report - A car accident left Jessica Pipkin a quadrapalegic. Never looked up and I hit the inside corner of a curb and hit another car head on," said Pipkin. She's been on TennCare ever since and that's why she went to the State Capitol Wednesday to tell lawmakers she can't live with 9 doctor's visits a year. To read more and see video.

Nashville Public Radio - Dylan Brown of Hendersonville gets around in a wheelchair. He also works at the Center for Independent Living helping other disabled Tennesseans find a way to live better. To read more, including extended quotes (excerpted below).

Dylan Brown - “If I didn’t have a disability, I could live off my salary, and …pay my own way with rent and all my bills and I’d be fine, but since I do have a disability there’s a lot of costs that go along with that. And with TennCare coverage I get durable medical equipment covered, and private duty nursing covered.”

Anthony Fox, TN Mental Health Consumers' Association - "TennCare participants are the most medically and financially challenged citizens of Tennessee. Many individuals will be forced away from basic medical and mental health treatment because of the inability to pay for the co-pay of transportation."

Andy Imparato - "Tennessee has been slow to provide services and supports in the community. They’ve got a pretty disproportionate percentage of their money going to institutions, nursing homes, and other settings.”

Legislation may be heard in the House Education K-12 Subcommittee on Wednesday, February 10th at 10am that would allow Special Education students to be locked alone in a room.  This would undo two years of work that outlawed locking students with Autism, Down Syndrome, ADHD, and other disabilities in isolation rooms.

If your legislator sits on this subcommittee we are asking you to make a call or send an email opposing House Bill 2538 by Tuesday.  A list of subcommittee members and bill sponsors, the areas they serve and their contact information is below.  When contacting your legislators please be respectful and let them know you live in their district.

Key Points

• This bill would make it legal to lock a special education student – of any age or diagnosis – in isolation at risk to their health and safety
• Contradicts health and safety codes that prohibit locking students in an educational facility without a way out
• A child could be locked in an isolation room without parental notification
• There is no requirement in the bill that locked isolation only be used in an emergency situations
• With a locked door, a student is trapped with no mechanism to call for help if they are forgotten – even for a minute or two – by school personnel
• Places all special education students at risk of locked isolation

For more information contact the Coalition at news@tndisability.org

Bill Sponsors and Districts

Click a legislator's name to get their email and phone number

Rep. Glen Casada - parts of Williamson County

Sen. Jack Johnson - Williamson and parts of Davidson - Senate Bill 2517

K-12 Subcommitee and Districts

Les Winningham, Chair - Clay, Jackson, Picket, Scott, and Anderson*

Ron Loller, Vice Chair - Shelby*

Judy Barker - Obion, Lake, and Dyer*

Tommie Brown - Hamilton*

Bill Dunn - Knox*

Beth Harwell - Davidson*

David Hawk - Unicoi, Greene*

Joey Hensley - Lawrence, Lewis, Wayne*

Ulysses Jones - Shelby*

Mark Maddox - Weakly, Carroll*

Johnnie Turner - Shelby*

Terri Lynn Weaver - DeKalb, Smith, Macon

Victory!  It's been a long year for the Family Support Program and the thousands of Tennessee families touched by a disability; however, tonight there is renewed hope.  The Coalition learned earlier today and confirmed tonight during the Governor's State of the State address that the program will be funded for at least two more years.

It is a time to celebrate and say thanks!  We encourage everyone to reach out this week by making a call or sending an note to their legislators and the Governor.  Thank them for putting the Family Support Program back in the budget for the next two years.

Does this mean the threat of elimination has passed?  Not entirely.  It's still early in the session so anything can happen, but now that Family Support is officially in the budget we expect it to be safe.  With that said, a word of thanks to the Governor and legislators this week will go a long way towards cementing this success.

Find your legislators - www.capitol.tn.gov

Contact the Governor -  Phil.Bredesen@tn.gov

The Budget and State of the State Documents - www.tennesseeanytime.org/gov/state-of-the-state

 

 

There will be at least two dominant drivers of activity at the General Assembly this spring, 1) the Governor's Race and 2) another exceptionally tight budget year with state revenues falling well below normal. 

This week and next, Governor Bredesen will be conducting public budget hearings for TennCare, the Department of Education, the Division of Intellectual Disabilities and others state agencies.  These hearings will provide early insights into the budget that will be proposed this spring by the Governor. 

For those who can't come to Nashville, video of the hearings are available online.  They are definitely worth a look.  

Direct Links to Video of Special Interest

If one of the entities below have not yet met, then clicking the link will produce a message that the presentation is not yet available.

November 16th

Education

Cover Tennessee

November 18th

Finance and Administration

TennCare

November 19th

Division of Intellectual Disabilities Services (responsible for the Family Support Program)

Human Services (including Vocational Rehabilitation)

Labor and Workforce Development

November 20

Higher Education

Children's Services

November 23

Health

Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities

To see the full list of a budget hearingsvisit: http://www.tennesseeanytime.org/gov/budget/

 

The Tennessee Family Support Alliance is a grassroots organization comprised of citizens who care about the Tennessee Family Support Program and who support its continuance as a necessary component of Tennessee’s service array for families who have loved ones with disabilities in our state. We do not have a formal organizational structure, but we do have a list of individuals who have volunteered to serve as representatives of various groups who are involved in this alliance.

Membership in the Tennessee Family Support Alliance is open to everyone.  The purpose of this Alliance is to voice our endorsement of one of Tennessee’s most valued and effective statewide programs serving persons of all ages with a  variety of severe disabilities, and providing essential support to their families and caregivers.

Because of the current economic situation,  problems with the reliability of the state’s revenue sources, and the pending collapse of many of Tennessee’s vital health and human service initiatives, this important program is now under imminent threat.

We actively solicit comments and discussion from the general public, as well as communications from individuals and families who are impacted by the program. This site is supported by private contributions of our members.

Bookmark the TN Family Support Alliance Home Page:

www.tnfamilysupport.org