NASHVILLE – Amid concerns raised by powerful health provider groups and others, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee’s administration intends to make some changes to its proposal to convert most federal funding for the state’s TennCare Medicaid program into a lump sum with fewer strings.
TennCare Director Gabe Roberts sought to assure a House panel Thursday the administration will clarify some aspects of the proposed waiver the state will submit to the Trump administration by Nov. 20.
“I think that as we go through that process and we hammer out some of these details that address some of the concerns that you heard, they will be clearly articulated,” Roberts told members of the TennCare Subcommittee.
His comments came after groups representing doctors, hospitals, national pharmaceutical manufacturers as well as an advocacy group for disabled Tennesseans said that although there were aspects of the plan they liked, other aspects were concerning.
At the direction of fellow Republicans in the General Assembly, Lee is seeking the waiver to convert $7.9 billion in federal funding for the 1.4 million-enrollee TennCare program into a hybrid block grant.