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November 17, 2023 8:00am
Q: Should Tennessee reject federal funds for K-12?
A: No, say most Memphis Power Poll respondents
Tennessee's legislative leaders failed the Memphis Power Poll test this month.
More than 8 in 10 Power Poll respondents rejected an idea -- now being studied by legislators -- of rejecting all federal funds for K-12 education.
No state has ever done that. More than 80 percent of Power Poll respondents say Tennessee should not be the first.
Three in four Power Poll respondents disagree with House Speaker Cameron Sexton's premise that rejecting federal funds would free Tennessee from “federal government interference” in K-12 public education.
And nearly two in three respondents agree with state Sen. Heidi Campbell (D), who says rejecting federal funds would allow Republicans "to privatize our entire public education system, which is the ultimate goal.”
Presenting sponsor
How BlueCross is working to improve mental health
Adding in-network providers, expanding access, improving equity
Nearly 1 million adults in Tennessee have a mental health condition. That’s 30 percent more than the population of Nashville. And 5 times the population of Knoxville.
Tennesseans lack access to behavioral health services
Simply put, there aren’t enough mental health providers to serve Tennesseans’ needs. BlueCross understands you can’t separate physical health needs from behavioral health needs. And most providers are concentrated in urban areas, often operating outside the health insurance system. In fact, only 56 percent of psychiatrists accept commercial insurance, compared to 90 percent of other types of health care providers.
That’s why it is expanding efforts to improve access to behavioral care.
BlueCross is working to increase in-network providers
In October, BlueCross sent new contracts to all mental health providers in its Commercial network with increased reimbursements for their services, effective Oct. 1, 2023. This represents a $30 million investment that balances the needs of providers while maintaining affordability for members. As a result of these efforts, new providers have joined our networks, which means members have more mental health options. We hope to add many more.
BlueCross expanded access to providers through Teladoc
Teladoc, a telehealth option that includes mental health services, launched this year. It is available to members through the BCBSTN mobile app and member portal. This makes an additional 5,000 behavioral health providers available to commercial members.
BlueCross has aligned care management teams around member needs
BlueCross realigned its care management teams to better integrate medical, behavioral health and pharmacy divisions around member needs. Behavioral health is focused on scheduling appointments for members, as well as working with providers to secure appointment times and appropriate follow ups. For those on a mental health medication, compliance is critical, especially during the first few weeks. The pharmacy team will use medication data to engage with members to ensure they are taking the medication as instructed by their provider.
BlueCross is working to increase health equity
In its first Health Equity Report released earlier this year, BlueCross identified how race and other social factors impacted Tennesseans’ ability to reach their highest level of health. In future reports, BlueCross is expanding the behavioral health metrics to include:
- Screenings to support youth mental health treatment
- Mental health hospitalization follow-up
- Substance use disorder treatment
Continued identification and measurement of equity issues across all areas of health will help BlueCross better engage with communities. The goal, in both physical and mental care, is to address health disparities so every Tennessean can thrive, regardless of their background.
A legislative panel formed by House and Senate Republican leaders met earlier this week to discuss the idea. The panel will report its findings to the legislatue no later than Jan. 9.
As Chalkbeat reported, the panel, composed of eight Republicans and two Democrats, isn’t allowing public testimony about how federally funded programs are run or how they affect children.
Tennessee regularly receives about $1.1 billion in federal funds for schools. That's about 11 percent of all revenues for the state's K-12 schools. (In 2022, one-time Covid relief funds pushed the total to $5.3 billion.)
About 90 percent of those funds are generated by federal programs that provide extra and specialized instructional support for low-income students and special needs students, and nutrition programs that subsidize free breakfasts and lunches for low-income students.
State officials say 148 Tennessee school districts receive one or more federal grants. The funds help an estimated 152,000 students who are considered economically disadvantaged, about 129,000 students who receive special education services, and more than 66,000 students who are learning the English language, according to Chalkbeat.
Sexton and other Republican leaders say they believe Tennessee would be able to replace the federal funding with state funds.
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About Power Poll: Power Poll asks questions of the most powerful, influential people in U.S. cities. It is not a scientific survey. But because the people responding to the surveys comprise the leadership structure of their cities, the results afford a fascinating glimpse into the thoughts, opinions, and beliefs of those in a position to make change. Power Poll is distinctly nonpartisan.
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