The Recommendations of the Governor's Task Force on the Healthcare Safety Net

On January 24, 2005, Governor Phil Bredesen established the Task Force on the Healthcare Safety Net by Executive Order. In doing so, the Governor noted that while county health departments, community and faith-based clinics, safety net hospitals and other commercial and non-commercial healthcare outlets are vital to Tennessee's healthcare safety net, development of the safety net has been limited since the inception of the TennCare program in 1994. The Task Force was charged with the responsibility of examining the state of the healthcare safety net in Tennessee and recommending to the Governor short-term and long-term options for strengthening it; particularly reinvesting - as financially feasible - in the public portions of the safety net. As the Executive Order indicated, the safety net will become increasingly important to the delivery of care following enrollment reductions in the TennCare program.

The Governor appointed 26 individuals to the Task Force; including five members of his Cabinet, health-related Commissioners already engaged in safety net considerations, a member from both the Tennessee Senate and the House, two county mayors, county health department executives, executive-level representatives of safety net hospitals and primary care and community mental health clinics, and healthcare professionals in the private and academic sectors possessing relevant experience in the delivery of health care in traditionally underserved rural and urban areas. The Governor asked the Commissioner of Health to serve as his designee, chairing the work of the Task Force. (Excerpt of Executive Summary)