Tennessee, Federal Health Officials Agree On Proposal For TennCare Funding Waiver

Main Category: Health Insurance / Medical Insurance
Also Included In: Public Health
Article Date: 01 Oct 2007 - 7:00 PDT

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Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen (D) on Tuesday said he expects CMS to formally approve a waiver for federal funding of TennCare "in the next week or two," the Knoxville News-Sentinel reports. State and federal officials have been working to reach a compromise on the waiver -- which expired in July, but has since been extended five times -- for more than a year. One point of contention was a provision that would limit the amount of funding TennCare could use to reimburse hospitals for treating patients who cannot afford health care.

If the caps are approved, Tennessee would lose more than $300 million in federal funding annually (Collins, Knoxville News- Sentinel, 9/26). If the compromise is approved, as expected, the cap on reimbursements would be more in line with what CMS has allowed for Massachusetts, which has a similar population size and number of people covered under Medicaid, Bredesen said (Collins, Knoxville News-Sentinel, 9/26). Bredesen declined to disclose the exact amount of federal funding the state will receive, but he noted that "it's significant" (Knoxville News- Sentinel, 9/25).

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