TennCare Protest Grows: HIV/AIDS Patients Join Sit-In - Today is Day #17

Tennessee's longest continuous sit-in is growing stronger:

TennCare cuts will jeopardize treatment, some say

On the 16th day of a sit-in protest outside Gov. Phil Bredesen's office against cuts to TennCare, people infected with HIV or suffering from AIDS joined the demonstration yesterday, expressing fears they will lose lifesaving medicines.

Timothy Vance, 47, said he takes 18 medications each month costing a total of more than $1,500 to treat AIDS. Vance, of Dowelltown, said he is losing TennCare because he also is covered by Medicare, which would not pay for his prescription drugs.

Vance was one of eight people diagnosed with HIV or AIDS who joined a sit-in by TennCare recipients and their supporters outside Bredesen's office that began June 20. The new protesters joined a half-dozen others from earlier sit-ins.