Wal-Mart is lobbying against it, saying it's an unfair "union tactic" though supporters note that about 25 percent of Wal-Mart employees are TennCare recepients, the largest percentage of any company in the state.
Other than Wal-Mart, the other companies that would be affected include FedEx, Kroger and Vanderbilt. The article makes interesting reading.
The state is continuing to track down fraud and abuse of TennCare - something the Bredesen administration demanded and previous Gov Sunquist avoided. But they've also made it easy for anyone to report fraud and abuse of TennCare.
The first-ever annual report of TennCare is available at the state's website and has these comments:
"This is the first time the Bureau has produced a report that very clearly spells out to the taxpayers how the program works and how their tax dollars are being spent in the TennCare program,” said TennCare Director, Dr. J.D. Hickey. “As the single largest component of the state’s overall budget, we felt compelled to produce this report and believe it will be a useful tool in better understanding the TennCare program and thechanges we’ve made during the past year.”
"The Annual Report chronicles TennCare’s efforts to rein in program finances by implementing dozens of pharmacy utilization control measures, expanding drug purchasing power, launching five statewide disease management programs and aggressively managing the program to return the program to financial stability. Statistics on the TennCare population, county-by-county enrollment breakdowns and funding source breakouts with actual expenditures and growth percentages are highlighted in the report for quick reference."
You can report suspected TennCare fraud by calling 1-800-433-3982 toll-free from anywhere in Tennessee, or log on to www.tenncarefraud.tennessee.gov
Why has everything in business been sent away to some impersonal corporate headquarters over the past 20 years? There was a time where the responsibility of local business owners did not need to have laws made to do the right thing by the folks who did work for them. Owners had no intrest in seeing the workforce die or live in poverty as they were part of their community and some were even family. Are we all not related like we used to be? Do we now need a batch of laws to love and help our familys? Are we as a nation unable to see the reality that if you kill all your customers you ain't gonna sell nothing to them, or if your base of taxpayers all get sick and poor they ain't gonna be able to keep paying?
ReplyDeleteChaps my hide raw to see what I have seen in the past twenty years.
Jed, those are all questions which I think more people are asking.
ReplyDeleteIf and or when I have an answer or theory, I'll let you know!
And hate to say it - but unless things continue to chap hides raw the population will continue to sleep through life itself. And if that happens, then, aS you say, That will only make matters worse.