Bredesen creates 'health care safety net' task force

Email | Print By Drew Ruble

01-24-2005 3:05 PM — Gov. Phil Bredesen on Monday announced the creation of a new task force that will revisit the state’s health care safety net.

Two weeks ago, Bredesen announced plans to remove over 320,000 adults from the TennCare population. At that time, Bredesen indicated that the state would need to revisit its safety net provisions, portions of which Bredesen said in a statement Monday “have atrophied in the shadow of a public health plan that has paid for everything, without limits.”

Saying it was time to begin “re-working those safety net muscles” in order to provide some level of basic care to those who need it, Bredesen Monday called on providers “to do more.” He added that strengthening the safety net meant “asking enrollees to make better use of community and faith-based clinics.” He also called on state government to make “limited investments to help beef up some non-commercial health care outlets, including our county health departments.”

Bredesen on Monday signed an Executive Order to create a 90-day task force to re-examine the status of the state’s safety net and recommend improvements. Nashville area members of the task force include:

*John Maupin, President, Meharry Medical College, Nashville

*Kathy Wood-Dobbins, Executive Director, Tennessee Primary Care Association, Brentwood

*Kenneth Robinson, Commissioner, Department of Health (Chair)

*Virginia Betts, Commissioner, Department of Mental Health & Developmental Disabilities

*Paula Flowers, Commissioner, Department of Commerce & Insurance

*Virginia Lodge, Commissioner, Department of Human Services