November 25, 2004

Shut It Down

It may not seem so just yet, but U.S. District Judge John Nixon just killed TennCare. From Today's Tennessean:

A federal judge yesterday opened the door for a noted Nashville civil rights attorney to join the legal fray over TennCare, the state's public insurance program for the poor and uninsured.

In court last week, attorney George Barrett argued that he ought to be allowed to intervene on behalf of 430,000 TennCare users who would lose all benefits if the program is dismantled.

Those uninsured and uninsurable TennCare participants need a legal advocate of their own because they have different interests from 900,000 other enrollees who would qualify for health insurance if the state returns to a more limited Medicaid program, Barrett argued.

U.S. District Judge John Nixon agreed, saying that those who stand to lose benefits entirely are ''deserving of a voice solely committed to protecting their interests."

Incidentally, Judge Nixon's addition of Barrett to protect the interests of those who stand to lose their TennCare benefits is not matched by any concern for making sure that there is a legal advocate for the one party in the TennCare battle who has never been adequately represented: the taxpayers who have funded the program since it was foisted upon them without a single vote by Gov. Ned McWherter's executive order.