Mike Moser "I Say" Published Dec. 24, 2004

Fixing the TennCare leak might not be hard to do

A small group of Tennessee doctors gained publicity last week when they met with Gov. Phil Bredesen with suggestions on how to save TennCare, the state health insurance program for the poor and uninsured.

To paraphrase former presidential candidate Ross Perot, that sucking sound you hear coming from the west is taxpayer dollars paying for this program.

Bredesen is to decide by Christmas on which approach to take in addressing ills of the state health care program.

It would be the best Christmas gift the governor could give the state if he comes up with a plan to stem the high cost of the program.

Pleasant Hill physician Richard Braun was one of the five representing Physicians for a Preserved and Improved TennCare at the meeting with Bredesen. Braun was quoted in The Tennessean as describing the state's approach to solving TennCare money woes like this:
"It's as if the city of Nashville has a water shortage, and what they want to do is turn off water to a large portion of the community, instead of fixing the leak."

The doctors want a state commission to spend the next six months examining the spiraling costs of TennCare.

No one asked me but I have come up with a quick fix of the TennCare program, myself. It is very simple, won't require a six month study but will require some up front funding and a lot of hard work. In the end, I believe taxpayers would save a bundle.

It is quite obvious that prescription medication addiction, forged prescriptions and prescription abuse is costing taxpayers in this state a hefty bundle of money. I am not the only person who has noticed this. Police officers who respond to claims of stolen prescription drugs, deal with motorists who are obviously on something beside alcohol and fill out burglary and theft reports, have noticed the rise in prescription addiction and abuse.

Federal law prohibits those in a position to know to discuss this issue specifically, but I see the police reports on a daily basis and from them, alone, conclude that prescription drug abuse is a major problem here on the Plateau.

TennCare investigators are needed and needed badly in every county in this state. We suspect that drugs like hydrocodone, which seem to be the TennCare drug of choice, are being over-prescribed in some cases.

The patient visits the doctor and complains long and loud about pain until it becomes easier for the doctor to prescribe drugs like hydrocodone than it is to tell the patient they can get along without the drug. I do not believe the majority of doctors do this. I would say some do. Doctors are also constantly concered with liability and may prescribe in marginal cases to be safe.

It is apparent from police reports that some patients are selling their drugs and then trying to find ways to replace them. The only way TennCare will cover a person's prescription twice in one month is if the prescription has been stolen.

If my theory is correct, I think thousands of TennCare dollars could be saved.

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Mike Moser is the editor of the Crossville Chronicle. His column is published periodically on Fridays.