TennCare, the state’s Medicaid insurance, will start its 12-month unwinding process on April 1 after yearly renewals went on pause for three years due to COVID-19. More than 350,000 Tennesseans are expected to lose coverage either because they don’t qualify anymore or because of a clerical error — such as not receiving, completing or returning the paperwork for renewal properly.
TennCare presented its redetermination plan to the Senate Commerce and Labor Committee on Jan. 31.
“This renewal process will be a substantial undertaking for Tennessee,” says Stephen Smith, director of TennCare. “I can say with every confidence that Tennessee is well-positioned to go through this process.” He adds that “the federal government could throw a wrinkle into things with unreasonable or confusing rules or guidance.”
New to this particular renewal process is “auto-renewal,” wherein TennCare will use data from places like SNAP and TANF to precomplete some of the renewal packet without further documentation of income. TennCare officials hope to see 50 percent preapproved this way. The organization is also introducing “nudging” to text, email or call members during their renewal month.
TennCare officials also promised to transfer data to the federal Health Insurance Marketplace for those deemed ineligible for TennCare. Tennessee is now one of just 10 states that haven’t expanded Medicaid, so many Tennesseans in need go without health coverage anyway.
Gov. Bill Lee appointed a new health commissioner in November — Ralph Alvarado, who is for abortion bans. His first controversy in office is the refusal to accept Centers for Disease Control and Prevention funding for HIV prevention centers, because “it is in the best interest of Tennesseans for the state to assume direct financial and managerial response for these services.” He’ll be back to discuss the budget in March.
As it stands in Tennessee, abortion is completely banned due to a trigger law that went into effect last year after Roe v. Wade was overturned. The law provides only an “affirmative defense” against a class-C felony for doctors who perform an abortion to save the life of the mother. However, a November poll showed that 75 percent of Tennesseans believe abortion should be legal in cases of rape and incest.
The Fundamental Right to Reproductive Health Care Act (SB762/HB829), introduced by Tennessee Democrats, would rewrite the current law to prohibit state and local officials from interfering with reproductive decisions, eliminate criminal penalties, protect doctors from criminal charges around abortion and improve access to medication abortion. There’s also a bill (HB1084/SB885) designed to clarify that abortion does not include contraceptives.
Perhaps the sneakiest bill to watch is SB857/HB1440, which would allow abortions in the case of rape or incest, but there’s a huge caveat. The physician cannot do it legally unless the patient reported the offense to a law enforcement agency — and the pregnant person is at risk of three years of jail time for a false report of rape or incest. The bill was brought forth by state Rep. Iris Rudder (R-Winchester) and Sen. Ferrell Haile (R-Gallatin).
This year, the Republican supermajority plans to focus on infrastructure, punishing Metro Nashville and culture-war issues
