Bredesen says TennCare being Gamed for Home Care

By Todd Hatton

Murray, KY – Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen says the TennCare system "is being gamed" by home care providers and recipients for what he calls an unreasonable amount of state money. Bredesen announced this summer that the state's expanded Medicaid program is cutting unlimited home care benefit for about 1,000 patients because of skyrocketing costs. Health care advocates held a press conference at the Legislative complex this week to protest the changes, and argued that the changes come too quickly for families to adjust to. But Bredesen says there's no legitimate reason for the home nursing program's annual cost to have ballooned from $18 million to $240 million since 2000.