Tennessee Attorney General’s Office Recovers $7 Million in Annual Healthcare Funding for Expectant Mothers

NASHVILLE—Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti today announced the restoration of nearly $7 million in annual Title X healthcare funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to the Tennessee Department of Health.  These funds will support prenatal care, health screenings, counseling, and education services.  The restored funding will benefit tens of thousands of mostly low-income Tennesseans who rely on the State for essential healthcare services.

“Our Office is gratified that HHS has restored these grant funds, which will provide thousands of Tennesseans, especially expectant mothers, with important healthcare resources,” said Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti.

For five decades, Tennessee has administered Title X grant dollars from HHS to support family planning healthcare services, particularly for the needy, all across the State.  HHS has praised Tennessee’s “strong” Title X program as among the nation’s “leading” initiatives, and it has lauded the State’s Department of Health as “the only agency” in Tennessee capable of administering “Title X funds with integrity and without a gap in services.”  Thus, in 2022, HHS awarded Tennessee a new five-year grant under Title X that provided the State approximately $7 million annually.  But, in 2023, the Biden administration stripped this essential funding due to the Department of Health’s compliance with state abortion laws.  The Tennessee Attorney General’s Office filed suit to restore the State’s funding, arguing that the Biden administration’s mandate that Tennessee’s Title X program counsel and refer for abortions that are illegal under state law was not authorized by Title X, and the Office has been litigating the case on behalf of the State.  On May 27, 2025, HHS notified the Department of Health that it would restore nearly the full amount of annual funding and would no longer enforce the punitive Biden-era mandates against Tennessee. 

Read the letter and Notice of Award from HHS.

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