Proposed cuts in federal health care spending on Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act could force more than 250,000 Tennesseans to join the ranks of the uninsured, an analysis by the Kaiser Family Foundation found.
The reconciliation bill would cut Medicaid spending nationwide by at least $716 billion, representing the single largest cut in the program’s history, a separate analysis by the Congressional Budget Office found.
The bill would achieve those cuts in a variety of ways, including by introducing stricter enrollment and work requirements for the low-income and disabled Tennesseans who rely on TennCare, Tennessee’s Medicaid program.
The bill would also eliminate so-called premium tax credits that have helped individuals purchase their own health insurance on the Affordable Care Act marketplace.
Together, the two provisions could cost between 190,000-310,000 Tennesseans access to TennCare or private insurance through the health care marketplace, according to Kaiser Family Foundation.