Tennessee House passes block grant waiver resolution
Jan. 15, 2021 – WSMV by: Cameron Taylor and Joe Wenzel – Changes will be going into place for Tennessee’s Medicaid program called TennCare. Gov. Bill Lee signed a block grant waiver resolution. Members of Tennessee House debated about the resolution for around two hours before it passed on Friday. The vote was 70-22. “Our TennCare system is one of the top Medicaid programs in the country and this new flexibility under the block grant model allows us to improve the health of Tennesseans and our communities,” Lee tweeted.
The federal government gave the plan the green light last week. State lawmakers were the last hurdle to authorize and implement it. The passage of resolution means health care coverage for 1.4 million Tennesseans will be changing soon.
State Rep. William Lamberth tells News4 the plan started as a block grant proposal and became a hybrid version known as a “shared savings plan.” “Roughly 1.5 million people will now have better access to healthcare, better healthcare, and better outcomes because we’ll be reinvesting that savings that are right now just disappearing,” State Rep. William Lamberth, (R) Portland said. He said Tennessee’s Medicaid program has cost the federal government less than other states. Before, any savings would go away. Now the state will keep them under this plan. “What we’ve done in this is we’ve said ‘look, allow us to keep those savings. We’re running the program better than other states.’ Give us a benchmark, which they did, and then as we improve on that, it can only improve the outcome for TennCare recipients,” Lamberth said.
Democrats are critical of the plan and call it a risky proposal for Tennessee.
State Rep. John Ray Clemmons was one of nearly two dozen who voted against it. “We are blowing up our current system with no guarantee that we will cover more people, provide better services or save any money for the taxpayers of this state,” State Rep. John Ray Clemmons, (D) Nashville said.
Another question with the plan is whether the incoming Biden administration will reverse the decision. Republican state leaders told News4 they’re confident it will stand.
In response, News4 received several statements including from Michele Johnson who is the Executive Director of the Tennessee Justice Center: “It is tragic that, in the middle of a deadly pandemic, our legislators have rushed to adopt this crass political gimmick. It distracts from their continued refusal to let 300,000 working Tennesseans receive the federally funded health coverage that former Governor Haslam’s plan would provide. Not a single other states has sought a block grant, and the nation’s most respected patient advocacy organizations all oppose it. The block grant puts at risk the health of the 1.4 million Tennesseans, including half of our children and two-thirds of our nursing home residents, who rely on TennCare. This is a dark moment for our state.”
Advisor to Tennesseans for Better Healthcare Choices Chris Walker also released a statement on the approval of the plan: “Tennesseans for Better Healthcare Choices applauds Governor Bill Lee, his administration, and the leaders in the Tennessee General Assembly on their efforts to pass Medicaid Block Grant reform. This meaningful health care reform will increase funding and lead to new, better care options through TennCare. It is clear that states know best how to serve their population, and this is a great move in the direction of more state control.”
House Speaker Pro Tempore Pat Marsh, R-Shelbyville released this statement regarding the waiver: “We have been given the historic opportunity to improve our state’s health care system in an innovative way,” Marsh said. “I am proud of the work the General Assembly has put into this plan to pursue a more efficient way to serve our TennCare enrollees, while simultaneously enhancing our already high quality of care.”