The Next TennCare HMO Debacle
Universal Care of Tennessee is a big HMO that is paid by TennCare to take care of sick people. Problem: It hasn't been paying its bills. Universal blames TennCare for not paying it enough money. Either way, its starting to look like the next Xantus or Access MedPlus - two TennCare HMOs that went belly-up. TennCare advocates claim that despite its exploding costs, TennCare has actually saved money. Well, I'd save money too if I didn't pay my bills. But when TennCare and/or its HMOs don't pay their bills, a lot of people and small businesses get hurt. Somebody's gotta be making money off this debacle. Somebody always does. Phil Bredesen, for example, became a multi-millionaire by selling an HMO not long before it went out of business.