Background: TennCare began on January 1, 1994, as an ambitious, statewide, health care reform program. It provided comprehensive benefits to Medicaid beneficiaries, uninsured State residents with income below specified limits, and uninsured residents at any income level if they had medical conditions that made them uninsurable. After several extensions of the original five-year Demonstration, Tennessee began TennCare II on July 1, 2002 as a new five-year Demonstration program. On June 15, 2006, the State requested a three-year extension of the demonstration, beginning after the five-year waiver period was scheduled to end on June 30, 2007. After multiple temporary extensions, the demonstration was renewed on October 5, 2007, for an extension period of October 5, 2007 through June 30, 2010. Fundamental Program Initiatives: - TennCare essentially replaced the Medicaid program in Tennessee. All Medicaid State plan eligibles are enrolled in TennCare and receive most State plan services through the Demonstration's delivery system. The program uses a managed care model and the redirection of Disproportionate Share Hospital payments to offer enhanced services to Medicaid State plan eligibles and to extend eligibility to uninsured and uninsurable individuals.
- In 2004 and 2005, the State proposed Demonstration amendments to address sizable budget deficits. These amendments, approved in 2005, limited the scope of services for certain populations, authorized the disenrollment of 323,000 adults in optional and expansion groups, and closed enrollment for the State plan category of non-pregnant medically needy adults and for the Demonstration populations, except for children rolling over from Medicaid State plan eligibility.
- Effective January 1, 2006, individuals dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaid were transitioned into the 1115 Demonstration from the State's existing 1915(b) waiver.
- In November 2006, CMS approved a Demonstration amendment to add a new Demonstration eligibility population of non-pregnant medically adults who would have been eligible as medically needy under the State plan.
Current Status: The Tennessee TennCare II Amendment #6 was approved July 22, 2008. There are no items under review. Please refer to the "Tennessee TennCare Fact Sheet" for additional information. |
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