Tennessee proposal to block TennCare contracts over trans health stopped in the Senate

A bill sponsored by House Speaker Cameron Sexton, at right, to prohibit insurance companies from participating in TennCare has stalled in the Senate. / Tennessee Lookout Photo by John Partipilo A bill sponsored by House Speaker Cameron Sexton, at right, to prohibit insurance companies from participating in TennCare has stalled in the Senate. / Tennessee Lookout Photo by John Partipilo

By Adam Friedman / Tennessee Lookout March 24, 2023 3 min read

Legislation seeking to block Tennessee’s Medicaid program from contracting with any insurance company that covers gender transition health care in another state has stalled in the state Senate.

House Bill 1215, sponsored by House Speaker Cameron Sexton and Lt. Gov. Randy McNally, would eliminate all of TennCare’s contracts with managed care organizations covering gender-affirming care in other states. BlueCross BlueShield, United Healthcare and Anthem are currently allowed to sell TennCare plans and, all three cover gender transitions in other states — but not through TennCare.

TennCare covers over 1.7 million income-qualifying Tennesseans, half of whom are children. The bill carried a critical fiscal note, which said TennCare would have to eliminate its current managed care organization system, “forced to switch to a fee-for-service model.”