The face of TennCare cuts
'He has a life,' mother says
By Linda Braden Albert
The (Maryville) Daily Times
MARYVILLE, Tenn. - Jason Sharp likes to have fun. That's evident in the way he jokes with his private duty nurse and visitors who stop by to see him.
"She's my wife," he mouthed, a sly smile tugging at his lips as he looked to see his nurse's reaction.
She laughed, and Sharp's grin widened.
Like many Tennesseans covered under TennCare, the bedridden Blount County man may soon find little to smile about. He is one of thousands of Tennesseans who will be affected by upcoming TennCare cuts, among them the nursing services provided 24 hours a day, seven days a week, that his family credits with keeping him alive.
According to a June 10 press release from the Bureau of TennCare, about 200,000 enrollees may lose coverage under this and other changes designed to stabilize the financially troubled program. The changes are to be in effect July 31, but it was announced July 14 that private duty nursing will continue until Dec. 31.
TennCare is an expanded version of Medicaid, the state and federal program for individuals and families with low incomes.
TennCare currently provides health care coverage for 1.3 million enrollees, or 23 percent of the state's population - a greater percentage than any other state in the country, according to the TennCare Web site.
After enrollment reductions are complete later this year, Tennessee still will be among the top 10 states in the country in terms of the percentage of population covered by a taxpayer- funded health plan.
This means little to people whose lives are in jeopardy. People like Jason Sharp.
Total dependence
Sharp lives with his mother and stepfather, Fran and Bob England, in a modest home in rural Blount County. At the age of 30, Sharp is totally dependent on his mother and the around-the-clock nursing care he has required for the past eight years.
Fran England said her son became disabled when he was hit by a car in 1989 at the age of 13. An elderly man came up behind Sharp as he was riding his bike and "ran him over," England said. As a result, her son sustained permanent, severe brain trauma that left him in a coma for several months.
The young man fought his way back and was able to graduate from high school with a lot of assistance, his mother said. He lost the use of his left arm and leg, was unable to speak and could swallow only pureed food. He communicated by sign language or simply moving his lips.
In 1993, Sharp's health experienced another downturn.
"He got real, real sick," England said. "We nearly lost him." At that time, England left her job at the Tennessee Valley Authority to provide constant care for her son.
Sharp now has a permanent tracheotomy and requires oxygen continuously due to antibiotic-resistant bacteria in his lungs. He requires 24-hour observation. This includes breathing treatments every four hours around the clock - followed by chest percussion and vibration with rotation therapy.
His oxygen level, blood pressure, heart rate, level of consciousness and respirations must be monitored continuously due to frequent, dramatic drops that require immediate action to revive him.
"The last time it happened, it took two of us working on him to get him awake enough to breathe on his own," England said. "One person cannot take care of Jason. He needs constant bedside care. Taking that away is like signing his death certificate."
'He has a life'
In addition, Sharp is fed continuously through a gastric tube because he is totally unable to swallow. The brain damage has affected his mental capacity, resulting in hallucinations, confusion, disorientation, inability to control frequent mood swings or aggressive behavior, and he can be a danger to himself. He does not remember that he cannot swallow, cannot walk, and does not have the ability to sit in his wheelchair.
His health continues to decline. He was hospitalized in September and December of 2004 and again last month with respiratory failure/ heart failure.
"Jason is borderline terminal," England said. "We are treating his (respiratory) symptoms because we can't cure him.
"But he has a life," she continued. "He interacts with people, he's cognitive of his surroundings and cuts up with the nurses and his brothers and sister when they come to visit. He's 30 years old and he's had this life for 17 years. He doesn't deserve to have everything cut off and taken away."
England is appealing the decision to drop Sharp's private duty nursing service. In the meantime, she relies on her faith in God to take care of her son even as she fights for his life.
"For the past four or five days, the thought that came to me every morning when I woke up was 'God will take care of Jason,'" she said. "He is in a grave - a terminal - situation. His family loves him, and he's deserving of every chance in the world to let his death be on God's timetable, not the state's.
"Jason is a human being. When did our state or our country get in the business of killing people? That's what will happen if he loses this benefit."
Reprinted with permission, The Daily Times
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