TennCare
Darin Gordon, Deputy Commissioner

"What people
are saying"

"This is about keeping people in their homes as long as they want to remain in their homes."
-- Gov. Phil Bredesen

"It's about quality; it's about offering choices; it's about simplifying the system."
-- Gov. Phil Bredesen

“We’re trying to add some real choice in here…”
-- Gov. Phil Bredesen

“… today is a big step forward for Tennessee.”
-- Steve Witt, director, Southeast Tennessee Agency on Aging and Disability

“… we want people to remain in their homes as long as possible …”
-- Ernestine Bowers, the Agency for the Aging and Disabled

" … it's a good year to do some restructuring."
-- Gov. Phil Bredesen

"… the momentum for change is continuing to build … "
-- AARP Tennessee Director Rebecca Kelly

“Lawmakers from both parties should be proud to embrace this comprehensive proposal …”
-- Mary Perren Russell Columbia Daily Herald commentary

“… She's been home now over a year and she's doing wonderful,"
-- Wanda Dillon, registered nurse

"PACE has enabled me to continue to work,”
-- Sharron Watson, caregiver relative

Governor Signs
Long-Term Care Legislation

Governor Phil Bredesen joined legislators and long-term care advocates in mid-June for a series of ceremonial bill-signing (pdf, 229kb) events across the state, to mark the passage of the Long-Term Care Community Choices Act of 2008. Bredesen proposed the legislation in his State of the State address in January to add new choices in home- and community-based services.

"The effect of this legislation is truly significant, and I appreciate the bipartisan support of the General Assembly in making these changes," Bredesen said. "This is a wholesale approach to improving the way we handle long-term care in our Medicaid system. This legislation fundamentally restructures the way care is delivered in our state and will create positive changes for families in every county in Tennessee."

In January, Governor Bredesen marked 2008 as the year to deliver on his promise to expand alternatives to nursing homes for elderly and physically disabled residents. These changes to the TennCare program, the state's largest single payer of long-term care services, allow $1.2 billion in TennCare funds to be more evenly divided between traditional nursing homes and home- and community-based service providers. Prior to the law, nursing homes received 98 percent of long-term care funds in Tennessee.

"We're literally changing the culture of how we deliver long-term care services to the people of our state," Bredesen said. "It's a real acknowledgment that there's no place like home, and that our state is taking a significant step forward in its ability to help our aging and disabled citizens."

Joining the Governor in the bill-signings (pdf, 229kb) were members of the General Assembly, AARP members and other long-term care stakeholders. The Governor signed the legislation in public ceremonies at senior centers in Kingsport, Knoxville, Chattanooga, Nashville, Memphis and Jackson.

"As I've traveled around the state talking to people about this issue, it has become clear just how many people are affected by this issue – young and old," Bredesen said. "I have seen how much my own mother wants to stay in her own home, and I know there are many families out there who want these types of choices. I'm pleased this is the year we begin to make that happen in Tennessee."

Senators Lowe Finney, Jim Kyle and Diane Black were prime sponsors of the legislation in the Senate, and Representatives Dennis Ferguson, Lois DeBerry and Gary Odom were prime sponsors in the House. By the time of the bill's passage, virtually every member of the General Assembly had signed on in support of the legislation.