TENNCARE SCALDED AGAIN: AUDIT FINDS INAPPROPRIATE PAYMENTS TO OUT OF STATE RECIPIENTS, INMATES

The Tennessean ^ | 4/25/02 | Bill Lewis

[GailA]

The state's embattled TennCare program inappropriately spent more than $48 million last year to provide health-care benefits to thousands of enrollees who did not live in Tennessee or who listed post-office box numbers as their addresses, an annual audit of the program shows.

[GailA]

ShillaryCare in action. This is one of the main reasons Tennessee is nearly bankrupt. DayCare is one of the other reasons, the fraud, waste and abuse of that system is just as bad as shillarycare.

[tm61]

Tennesse Voters: clearly the program is underfunded and the fix is to raise taxes in order to acuqire the means to properly manage it. thank you,(signed) Tom Daschle

[gunnedah]

When you put trust in your politicians this is what you get.Waste and fraud runs wide and deep in government and there is no accountability.Your watchdogs are too busy filling their own pockets and looking out for friends and family.Also you never see people jailed when it comes to fraud from within the government it is always swept under the rug.But I see your govenoer is calling out the National Guard because Communist believe in jailing people who disagree with them.All you tax protestors prepare to back down or go to jail,the govenor has spoken.

[Grammy]

My daughter is on Tenncare. When she was on a trip 4 years ago she had a medical emergency. Tenncare has not paid the bill. Now the hospital has turned HER over to a collection agency. All the while though, they managed to give the Fords a whole lot of money.

[Redbob]

Can't blame folks too much for using PO boxes; door-to-door mail delivery in Shelbyville is like playing the lottery.

[07055]

''People in other states pay for two-thirds of the program,'' she said.

In other words, it is "other peoples money" so who cares if we waste it?

[GailA]

That is the attitude of ALL levels of government.

[upchuck]

The program also paid $465 million to insure more than 130,000 people whose P.O. box addresses made it difficult to check whether they really were eligible for benefits, the audit said.

Well, let's see... $465,000,000 divided by 130,000 people equals, WHAT??? $3,576 per person? And that would be an average. This, let alone all the other stuff, is totally outrageous!!

The beneficiaries of TennCare must really be sick (no pun intended).

[upchuck]

The program also paid $465 million to insure more than 130,000 people whose P.O. box addresses made it difficult to check whether they really were eligible for benefits, the audit said.

Another throught: Seems to me they could stop this RIGHT NOW by ceasing to make payments to or accept applications from persons with a P.O. Box for an address. Ya got no street address?? Fine, ya got no medical care.

Looks to me like people are deliberately taking advantage of (read: STEALING FROM) the taxpayers of TN. If I lived in TN, I'd be mighty pissed at this.

[GailA]

We are and you have a right to be too..after all you and the rest of the US tax serfs foot two-thirds of the bill. we here get to foot the entire bill..the federal part and the State part.