TennCare Contract with Federal Government Finalized

TennCare’s waiver extended through June 30, 2021

Nashville – Today Dr. Wendy Long, director of TennCare, the state of Tennessee’s Medicaid program, announced that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) granted a five-year extension of Tennessee’s section 1115 demonstration, TennCare II. The new approval period ends on June 30, 2021.

TennCare operates under a section 1115 of the Social Security Act demonstration waiver from CMS – which is within the United States Department of Health and Human Services. The previous demonstration approval period expired on June 30, 2016. TennCare and CMS have been negotiating terms and conditions while operating under temporary extensions.

Some of the terms and conditions included in the extension are:

• Continuation of Tennessee’s Medicaid managed care program
• Continuation of TennCare’s current eligibility levels and benefits package
• Updates to the pools used to reimburse Tennessee hospitals for the cost of unreimbursed care
• Flexibility to amend the TennCare waiver, if needed, to reflect changes in state or federal policy

A link to the full waiver is available online at TennCare Waiver.