Tennessee trauma doctors urge stable funding as patient load rises and cigarette revenue falls

Representatives of the Trauma Care Advisory Council told the Senate Finance, Ways and Means Committee on Feb. 18 that Tennessee’s trauma system is treating many more patients while revenues that historically supported the system have fallen, leaving readiness and uncompensated-care costs underfunded.

The council’s presentation outlined three budget categories supported by the state trauma fund — statewide system management and registry work, readiness costs for trauma centers (the nonpatient costs of maintaining 24/7 trauma capability) and uncompensated care payments — and asked the committee to consider replacing lost cigarette‑tax revenue to stabilize the fund.

“We seek to replace the revenue lost with that continued decreased use of cigarettes, to stabilize that fund and ensure sustainable funding for the statewide system,” said Reagan Bullock, who identified himself as representing the University of Tennessee Medical Center and the Trauma Care Advisory Council’s member hospitals.

Bullock and colleagues described the system’s configuration and the council’s recent statewide…