Latest news with #TennesseeCaregiverCoalition
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
'Big Beautiful Bill' cuts to Medicaid, food aid raise alarm in Tennessee
From left, Ashlie Bell, a survivor of childhood cancer and director of Family Voices of Tennessee, and Dr. Megan Schwaim, executive director of the Tennessee Caregiver Coalition, address how federal cuts to food programs will affect Tennesseans. (Photo: John Partipilo/Tennessee Lookout) Advocates for low-income and disabled Tennesseans sounded the alarm Tuesday over federal legislation that could slash an estimated $1.1 trillion over the next decade from federal safety net programs that provide food and healthcare to millions of Americans. The package includes a $600 billion reduction in federal Medicaid spending over 10 years, impacting TennCare, Tennessee's program, which currently covers healthcare costs of 1.4 million people, including two of every five children in the state. It also includes nearly $300 million in cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as 'food stamps,' which helps more than 700,000 Tennesseans buy food. Some savings from SNAP cuts would then be used to increase farm subsidies. Both programs would establish new work requirements for adult recipients. Tennessee counties stand to lose a net $5.3 billion in federal help over 10 years if Congress approves the SNAP cuts even with increases in farm subsidies, one recent analysis found. Jeannine Carpenter, chief communications officer for the Chattanooga Area Food Bank, warned the proposed cuts to SNAP would create a surge in hunger among Tennessee families. The food bank provided 17 million meals last year to families in southeast Tennessee and northwest Georgia, but, Carpenter noted, those efforts pale in comparison to the role SNAP plays in Tennessee. 'For every meal we provide, SNAP provides eight,' she said. 'So, if we take these benefits away, we're talking about a food insecure population that cannot be cared for by our current charitable infrastructure.' Speaking during a downtown Nashville news conference held outside the offices of Tennessee's two Republican senators, Marsha Blackburn and Bill Hagerty, Carpenter urged the pair to reject the cuts and 'protect the very people they were elected to protect,' she said. Medicaid cuts in the so-called 'One Big Beautiful Bill' would largely come from new work requirements for adults and imposing more paperwork requirements that are expected to disqualify recipients unable to complete them. The work requirements could have a narrower impact on Tennessee, which has opted not to expand Medicaid, than other states. They apply primarily to non-elderly adults without disabilities. Most TennCare enrollees are children, their parents, pregnant women, seniors and people with disabilities. TennCare has an uneven history for the existing paperwork process it uses to enroll and then periodically verify people enrolled in the program. One government audit found that of the more than 240,000 children cut from TennCare between 2016 and 2019, only 5% were found to be disqualified from the program. Other children lost insurance because families did not fill out paperwork correctly. Neither Hagerty nor Blackburn responded to requests for comment about the bill left with their offices. The Senate is expected to take up the package already approved by House Republicans later this month. GOP supporters of the bill say it is designed to root out 'waste, fraud and abuse' from the programs. An analysis by the Environmental Working Group, which has tracked farm subsidies for over the past three decades, found that just three of Tennessee's 95 counties would see their net funding increase even with deep cuts to SNAP: Crockett ($32 million increase), Haywood ($32 million increase), and Lake ($1.2 million increase). The rest would see farm subsidy bumps far outweighed by SNAP cuts. The group examined USDA county-level farm subsidy data and federal data for SNAP by county to determine how much funding each county stands to gain or lose should SNAP funding see a $300 billion cut and farm subsidies get a $35 billion boost under the bill. Tennessee's most populous counties would lose the most, with Shelby County expected to see a net $1.2 billion decrease, followed by Davidson ($500 million), Knox ($301 million), Hamilton ($283 million), and Rutherford ($167 million). But more rural counties will also see significant reductions in overall funding. 'We have thousands of SNAP recipients in a single county that receives support to help their families eat on a daily basis, but that will get cut so that a couple hundred (farmers), maybe, will receive a few extra thousand dollars when it comes to harvest time,' said Jared Hayes, senior policy analyst for the Environmental Working Group. These particular farm subsidies have higher payouts for larger commodity harvests, Hayes said, benefiting large-scale farmers over smaller operations. 'No matter what, people are going to be losing out in every single county. It's just who is getting the money,' he said. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
10-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Family caregivers struggle with duty and paying bills. TN must expand paid leave.
During this session of the Tennessee General Assembly, lawmakers prioritize addressing a reality that is often overlooked: most Tennesseans are or will be family caregivers at some point in our lives. We may care for children, an adult relative with a disability, or an aging parent, and often we may be 'sandwich' caregivers - caring for children and aging parents at the same time. Caregiving is often unseen and unappreciated, but vital to our communities and economy. For too long, we have ignored the financial and emotional toll on those who step up to care for ill or disabled loved ones. This challenge is especially pressing in Tennessee, ranked one of the worst states in the nation by AARP for family caregiving support. About 80% of long-term care at home is provided by family caregivers, and the majority (61%) of caregivers are employed, many working full-time. In Tennessee, family caregivers provide $12.3 billion in unpaid labor each year. Tennessee's nearly one million family caregivers face an impossible choice between maintaining a paycheck and keeping a loved one healthy and safe. It's time we change that by ensuring that Tennesseans have access to paid leave to care for a family member with serious health issues. The challenges of caregiving without paid leave are deeply personal and all too common for the families our organizations serve. For example, the Tennessee Caregiver Coalition hears from caregivers every day about the heartbreaking choices they face without access to paid leave. One caregiver shared how, after her father suffered a debilitating stroke, she had to exhaust her vacation days and eventually quit her job to care for him, leaving her family struggling to stay afloat financially. Opinion: How to protect elders from scams and financial exploitation Another caregiver told of missing critical medical appointments for her young child with a rare disability because taking time off without pay meant falling behind on bills. These stories highlight the impossible choices Tennessee families face when trying to balance work and caregiving responsibilities. A robust paid leave policy would keep Tennesseans in the workforce, stabilize families, and strengthen our economy. Right now, many caregivers – especially women – are forced to quit their jobs or reduce their hours to care for a family member. Paid leave would allow family caregivers to stay employed while fulfilling their caregiving duties. Research shows that access to paid leave also improves caregivers' mental and emotional health, empowering them to provide the best care possible without sacrificing their own well-being and financial security. According to the Bipartisan Policy Center, over 70% of people not currently working or seeking work cite personal health or family caregiving as the main reason, and for these individuals, paid leave is nearly as important as compensation when deciding whether to return to the workforce. As the aging population grows, so will the need for family caregivers whose work takes the burden off the formal caregiving system. Tennessee can boost our economy by fostering caregiver-friendly workplaces, recognizing that eldercare is as important as childcare, and offering paid leave to help employees navigate family caregiving. Research shows that paid leave boosts employee recruitment, retention, productivity, and morale. As our population ages and health needs increase, so too should our willingness to support the people who carry the heaviest burdens: Tennessee families. At some point in life, most of us will either provide care or need it ourselves, which means everyone has a stake in improving Tennessee's low ranking for family caregiver support. By expanding access to paid family leave, Tennessee has an opportunity to provide family caregivers with much-needed economic security while building a healthier, more prosperous state. Mia McNeil is state director of AARP Tennessee. Dr. Megan Schwalm is executive director of Tennessee Caregiver Coalition. Grace Smith is executive director of AgeWell Middle Tennessee. This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Tennessee family caregivers deserve expanded paid leave | Opinion
