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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.gov other 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

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