Notices

Only people with the following citizenship or immigration statuses will qualify for these programs:

• U.S. citizens
• U.S. nationals
• Cuban/Haitian Entrants
• Compact of Free Association (COFA) migrants
• Certain lawful permanent residents (LPRs) – you may know this as having a green card

Usually, people with an LPR status must have it for at least 5 years before they can have coverage. This is called the 5-year bar. Some people are exempt from the 5-year bar and can be eligible before they have had the LPR status for more than 5 years.

You may still be eligible for coverage on October 1, 2026, if you have an LPR status now and you:

• have had it for more than 5 years, or
• had a different entry status that doesn’t have to wait 5 years (like a refugee, asylee, or Cuban or Haitian entrant).

The 5-year bar does not apply to someone who currently has an LPR status and meets one of the following:

• came into the U.S. with one of the following humanitarian statuses:
  • Refugee or Asylee
  • Cuban/Haitian Entrant or Parolee
  • had deportation withheld
  • Amerasian Immigrant
  • Afghan/Iraqi Special Immigrant
  • Child or Spouse of Afghan/Iraqi Special Immigrant
  • Ukrainian Humanitarian Parolee, or
    • the spouse or child of a Ukrainian Humanitarian Parolee who was paroled after September 30, 2023
    • the parent, legal guardian or primary caregiver of a Ukrainian Humanitarian Parolee who was determined to be an unaccompanied child who was paroled after September 30, 2023
• is an honorably discharged veterans, active duty in the U.S. military or
  • the spouses, unmarried children, or unremarried surviving spouses of honorably discharged veterans or individuals on active duty in the U.S. military
• was a victim of trafficking
• is an American Indian born in Canada
• is a member of a federally recognized Indian tribe

Tell TennCare if you or anyone in your household’s citizenship or immigration status has changed, or if anyone is pregnant. Make sure you open and read all letters from TennCare. If TennCare asks you for information, give as much information as you can. This will help TennCare decide if you meet these rules.

If you have questions about your coverage, call TennCare Connect at 855-259-0701.

You already do! In Tennessee, only a very small number of TennCare members may be subject to work requirements. If you are one of them, you already meet the requirements of this new law because TennCare can verify that you meet the work requirement based on your income information.

Because of this, no TennCare member needs to submit additional paperwork to show you are working now or send proof that you are still working.

Not in Tennessee. Again, anyone in Tennessee impacted by the new federal law already meets the community engagement requirements based on income.

The community engagement requirement applies almost entirely to adults who receive Medicaid through the Affordable Care Act Medicaid expansion, which Tennessee does not have.¹

TennCare does not cover all adults the way Medicaid expansion states do. However, Tennessee does cover some groups that are not usually eligible for Medicaid, such as parents whose income is too high to qualify for Medicaid but too low to afford health coverage through the Health Insurance Marketplace.

The community engagement requirement applies to these parents, but they automatically meet the new community engagement requirements and therefore they will not experience any impact.

¹Medicaid expansion adults are adults who are not otherwise eligible for Medicaid (e.g., not pregnant, not receiving SSI) whose incomes are below 133 percent of the federal poverty line.

You don’t need to take any action to meet this requirement.  TennCare verifies income and work at the time of application, renewal, and reported changes in circumstances.

The only TennCare members who are subject to the new requirement are certain parents or caretakers whose incomes are above the federal minimum wage amount ($580 per month).

If you are a parent or caretaker in this category of coverage, TennCare has automatically determined that you meet the requirement based on your income. TennCare is not requiring any additional documentation about your work status.

You should continue to read and respond to all notices and mailings from TennCare. It is important that you participate in the annual renewal process and provide TennCare with any information TennCare requests.

In addition, you should promptly report any changes in your household or income to TennCare at TennCare Connect, tenncareconnect.tn.gov.