Tag: Darren Jernigan

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - This election hasn't been easy on anyone, even on those who won. “I was one of the few democrats that survived in Tennessee,” said Darren Jernigan, director of government affairs at Permobil, who is about to start his third term as a state representative. “(The elections) are every two years—it's wearing me out.” HME News recently spoke with Jernigan about “serving two masters” and what stakeholders should expect in the new political climate.HME...

NASHVILLE - After getting Tennessee's Medicaid program, TennCare, to pay for elevated seating and standing systems on power wheelchairs, Darren Jernigan is setting his sights on other states.The items were on a list of DME products TennCare refused to cover, a violation of CMS's DeSario letter, which prohibits such exclusion lists.“We (got them covered) using a new approach,” said Darren Jernigan, director of government affairs at Permobil and a member of the Tennessee House of Representatives....

It is time for state Medicaid programs with an exclusion list to re-evaluate their policy before they find themselves in court. In 1998, CMS put out a policy letter to state directors, otherwise known as the DeSario letter, that prohibits “exclusion lists.” The letter advised that states limiting DME coverage must meet three conditions:(1) The process for deciding coverage must use reasonable and specific criteria that do not arbitrarily exclude items based solely on a type of illness...