SAVE TENNCARE RALLY

--DRESS IN BLACK--

Wednesday Nov 17 11:30

170 N Main 
In front of the state building
Memphis, TN

"In business, you can walk away from a tough problem; in government, you sometimes have to swallow and compromise." 
- Sunday, 14 Nov. 2004, Larry Daughtrey is a Tennessean columnist. 

All major newspapers over the last week have called for a compromise for the long-term good of the state and the people of Tennessee.

"Still, Gov. Bredesen’s bombshell edict (to end TennCare) hardly seems the best way to resolve the crisis. It’s a shortcut to a myopic resolution rather than a reasonably graduated approach to resolve the crisis in favor of the needs of Tennesseans. The 400,000 Tennesseans he would exclude from health insurance by eliminating TennCare constitute the most vulnerable of citizens: the working poor who do not receive or cannot afford employer-based health, thousands of people who are uninsurable, approximately 120,000 children, and 30,000 institutionalized patients. If TennCare advocates need to step up to compromise, so does the governor."
Chattanooga Times Free Press Editorial, 11/11/04

"While we continue to support the governor's reforms in the program, we hope both parties will consider the implications of any decision to drop TennCare - namely, will the state's bottom line for the long term be better off with a return to Medicaid?"
Knoxville News Sentinel Editorial, 11/14/04

"The governor said he wanted to "leave no stone unturned" in the effort to preserve TennCare and consequently would give the program a little more time.....That's some consolation -- for TennCare's extended client population and the program itself.....We hope both parties will look at this as an opportunity to be seized, as lives are in the balance."
Commercial Appeal Editorial, 11/11/2004

"The call to pull the plug ignores the fact that many of the 430,000 people who will lose coverage have been eligible for TennCare because they were already too sick to get regular health-care coverage.... Certainly, those who have watched TennCare consume larger parts of the state budget know that the status quo is not an option. But the fact remains that TennCare has never managed care the way care is managed in the private sector. Bredesen was elected in part due to his track record in health-care management. He has the skills and experience to turn this program around. He also has the responsibility (to maintain TennCare)."
The Tennessean, 11/13/2004

Action needed: Write letters to the editor to ALL state newspapers.

Write letters to the editor to your local newspaper. Be sure to include your name, address and phone number with every letter. The basic message is:

The lives of 430,000 women, children and people with serious medical conditions are at risk. It is time to compromise; and If they lose their health care coverage, local hospitals will become their primary care provider, which will be very costly in lives and in money, insurance premiums will go up. 

Links to major newspapers:

Tennessean: letters@tennessean.com fax: 615-259-8093. 

Nashville Scene: editor@nashvillescene.com fax: 615-254-4743

The City Paper: letters@nashvillecitypaper.com fax: (615) 298-2780

Commercial Appeal: letters@commercialappeal.com 
-and- 
POBox 334 
Letter to the Editor
Memphis, TN 38101

Jackson Sun: letters@jacksonsun.com fax: 731-425-9639

Chattanooga Times: lweaver@timesfreepress.com fax: 423-757-6383

Knoxville News Sentinel: letters@knews.com fax: 865-342-6404

MetroPulse (this is Knoxville's Alternative Weekly): editor@metropulse.com Fax: 865-522-2955

Herald Citizen - Cookeville: letters@herald-citizen.com