State Lawmakers Inaugurate New Session by Rushing Through Medicaid Overhaul

You know Tennessee Republicans were eager to push through their overhaul of the state’s Medicaid financing system because they took the rare step of showing up to work on a Friday.

Typically, the Tennessee General Assembly’s first week back in Nashville is spent on organizational tasks, including the introduction of new members and the shuffling of offices to reflect waxing and waning holds on power. There was indeed some of that last week — committee members introduced themselves like it was the first day of school. But those committees also spent their inaugural meetings passing a resolution authorizing the implementation of a Medicaid block grant deal negotiated with the Trump administration just days before that administration shuffles out the door.

The agreement, if the Biden administration doesn’t claw it back, gives Tennessee more flexibility in the way it spends the billions of federal dollars it gets for Medicaid, which is operated in Tennessee under the TennCare program that provides health care to the neediest 1.5 million Tennesseans. About a fifth of Tennesseans and about half of births in the state are covered by the program, making the speed with which Republicans pushed through the overhaul plan especially galling to those both opposed and simply seeking more information.

It’s an unusual legislative session. The FBI raided several lawmakers’ offices as part of an unspecified probe a few days before the session began. Rep. David Byrd of Waynesboro is currently in the hospital with COVID-19, and others are staying away from the Capitol because of the spreading disease. Republican Rep. Terri Lynn Weaver marched on the U.S. Capitol along with fellow Trump supporters who breached the building on Jan. 6. She called the event — which left a police officer and four others dead — “epic” and was back in Nashville for the first week of session.

But one thing about the session is entirely typical: Republicans in the super-majority can do pretty much whatever they want, no matter how loudly super-minority Democrats cry foul. That was evident when Republicans threw out procedural hurdles to pass the TennCare overhaul in less than three days.

And it will be evident in the weeks and months to come. First up is a special session called by Gov. Bill Lee to focus on education matters. That begins today, but Lee announced last week his plans to bring legislation related to lagging literacy rates and teacher accountability during the pandemic.

After the special session, lawmakers will resume their regular session, when legislation to be considered will range from loosening handgun restrictions to loosening vaccination requirements. Criminal justice, medical marijuana and further conversations about public education and health care access are also on the docket. And despite the departure of the legislature’s three most enthusiastic culture warriors — former Republican Reps. Micah Van Huss, Matthew Hill and Timothy Hill — expect tense fights over Confederate symbols, the media, the federal government and more.

As they spend the next few months debating bills and setting policy, at least some lawmakers will also attempt to prevent a COVID-19 outbreak in the crowded Capitol and adjacent office building. There’s no mask mandate in the 99-member House, despite the hospitalization of multiple members in recent months. Some take the pandemic seriously, though.

Republican Rep. Sabi Kumar, a doctor, practically begged his colleagues to wear masks — even if they had already contracted the disease, as many have.

“You’re not Superman yet,” Kumar said during the first week of session, highlighting the possibility that recovered patients could still be spreading the disease or could be reinfected. “We are leaders in our community. Let us set a good example.”

To be determined on whether they will.