Rounded Rectangle: TennCare Appeals: What you need to do now to maintain your services and how to file a TennCare Appeal? TennCare and DIDS are reducing services across Tennessee. This is affecting MicroBoards with Personal Assistant services and Single Placements. In this workshop you will learn what you can do now to justify continued services. The workshop will cover the following ISP topics: 1) Why it is important to begin revising your ISP now 2) What information you need to collect before your ISP meeting 3) Who should give input into the ISP and 4) What absolutely needs to be included in your ISP. Additionally, the workshop will cover how to prepare for a TennCare Appeal including: 1) Why it is critical to appeal within 10 days 2) 2) What must you include in an appeal, 3) What information will you need for the hearing and 4) What will happen at the hearing.

Marjorie A. Bristol

Prior to founding the Bristol Firm, Marjorie served as a staff attorney at the Tennessee Justice Center, a non-profit law firm dedicated to serving the needs of poor families. As a staff attorney there, she represented plaintiffs in four class action lawsuits against TennCare, Tennessee's Medicaid program.  At the Tennessee Justice Center, Marjorie also represented individual class members in administrative appeals involving TennCare eligibility and accessing TennCare services. The majority of her clients in these administrative appeals were children with complex medical or mental health needs.

From 1999 to 2004, Marjorie was a staff attorney at the Office of the Post-Conviction Defender. Her practice there was dedicated solely to the representation of individuals sentenced to death at the post-conviction level in state and federal courts. Ms. Bristol was also given the tremendous opportunity to represent three death sentenced inmates before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.

Marjorie graduated from Maryville College in East Tennessee with a Bachelor of Arts in English and received her law degree from the University of Tennessee College of Law in 1999, graduating cum laude. While attending the University of Tennessee College of Law, Marjorie served as Student Materials Editor of the Tennessee Law Review, was co-coordinator of the Pro Bono Project, received the Dean's Citation for outstanding service to the law school, and was awarded the William H. Leech Public Service Award.

Marjorie is admitted to practice in the Tennessee state courts and the United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee. Marjorie is a native of Central Kentucky, but has now made Tennessee her home. She originally moved to Tennessee to attend Maryville College and then again to attend the University of Tennessee College of Law.

 

MARK FREIDMAN has assisted numerous people with disabilities and their families in appealing denials of services from TennCare and DIDS. He is the former Executive Director of the Middle Tennessee Advocacy Center advocating for people with disabilities living in the community who used to reside in state institutions. He was previously the Vice-Chairperson of the Pennsylvania Developmental Disabilities Council. He is currently the CEO of Blue Fire Consulting, providing technical assistance to disability organizations on self-advocacy, consumer empowerment, disability rights, and technology.