Velma Brown

Velma’s teenage granddaughter and foster daughter, Rebecca, struggles with scoliosis, severe back pain, and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Rebecca hopes to someday become a nurse’s assistant. At age 18, she aged out of state custody and was dropped from TennCare, due to a bureaucratic oversight. During the period that Rebecca went uninsured, Velma managed to pay for her granddaughter’s ADHD medication out of pocket. But, Rebecca lost valuable physical therapy time. Velma worked with TJC to get Rebecca’s TennCare reinstated, filed an appeal for her out-of-pocket expenses, which were eventually reimbursed. Velma also worked with TJC to write a letter to the state, asking that other children not encounter the same barriers to care that Rebecca experienced. Velma said, “With TJC’s help, I was able to get Rebecca’s TennCare back. Now, she will be able to go out into the world with the insurance she needs to stay healthy.”

Photo Credit: Stacey Irvin