The amount of money for HIV testing and prevention in Tennessee has nearly doubled in the three months since Tennessee rejected roughly $8 million for those services following approval of the state budget and a new federal grant — but some health care providers say it’s too soon to celebrate.
The Tennessee Department of Health drew national scrutiny in January when officials informed partner nonprofits that the state would forfeit millions in grant money from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that’s historically been used to fund HIV surveillance, testing and prevention. Gov. Bill Lee said at the time that the plan was to fund those services with state money.
“We think we can do that better than the strings attached with the federal dollars that came our way,” Lee said at the time.
The fiscal year 23-24 state budget, which was approved late last week, includes $9 million in recurring state dollars to provide up-front funds for nonprofit and community partners across Tennessee, according to an email from Lee spokeswoman Jade Byers.