NASHVILLE, Tenn.--Plans to trim the state's Medicaid rolls have been put on hold once again after a federal judge ruled the cuts would violate some recipients' constitutional rights.

U.S. District Court Judge William J. Haynes said the state's plan to eliminate coverage for 323,000 does not fully protect the due-process rights for TennCare beneficiaries who wish to appeal their loss of coverage.

In January, Gov. Phil Bredesen announced the plan for cutting the TennCare rolls and capping benefits for another 396,000 in the program to save the state $1.7 billion annually. (Children would not be affected.) Last month, the governor said he had reached a deal with one set of enrollee lawyers and state hospitals that would protect 97,000 of the sickest patients scheduled for the cuts. But that agreement hinged on a favorable ruling from Haynes, a favorable ruling in another federal court over changes to enrollee benefits and a sign-off from federal officials.

Haynes had previously blocked the proposed cuts while he held hearings over whether they violated a consent decree. But before he could issue a ruling, his decision was overturned by a federal appeals court that said Haynes had overstepped his authority. State attorneys are now appealing to the 6th U.S. Circuit Court, claiming that time is crucial in order to prevent fiscal crisis for the TennCare program. "The bottom line is that if this stands, we will not have the financial ability to go forward," State Attorney Michael Kirk told the Associated Press.

The longer the TennCare changes are delayed, state lawyers explained, the more expensive the program will become, costing $44 million per month beginning July 1. According to reports, the state had already begun the TennCare overhaul, ending the chance for new applicants to enroll in the program in certain categories.

However the scenario plays out, according to Gayla M. Sasser, executive director of the Tennessee Association for Homecare, it will just be a shifting of costs to others such as doctors and hospitals. "What we will see happening is the [health care] provider community will end up paying bills for those folks," she said. For now, the organization is concentrating on communicating with the governor's office on the issue, she said. "I think it's a wait-and-see game."