TN hospitals want fee to prevent TennCare cuts

The trade group representing Tennessee's hospitals has voted unanimously to ask the legislature to approve a hospital fee that would avoid millions in TennCare cuts --at least temporarily. The fee, which would not be passed on to patients, would save the hospitals money because the estimated $424 million they would put into the TennCare program would be matched 2-to-1 by the federal government, Tennessee Hospital Association President and CEO Craig Becker said. Also, the investment would help provide people with appropriate care on the front end so they don't wind up needing costly emergency care.