Tennessee State Rep. Vince DeanNASHVILLE — The House took final action today on a measure expected to save local governments money on some jail inmate medical costs, sending the bill to Gov. Bill Haslam.
“This is a very very important bill,” said bill sponsor Rep. Vince Dean, R-East Ridge. “This will save our local governments a lot of money.”
The bill seeks to shift costs on some inmates’ care under specific circumstances to the federal government through Medicaid, operated in here as TennCare.
It authorizes the suspension instead of the termination of TennCare benefits for Medicaid-eligible inmates during incareration. Officials could then move to reinstate Medicaid benefits if the inmate is hospitalized for more than 24 hours in a facility outside a jail or correctional facility.
That’s expected to help with lengthy, expensive hospitalizations.