TennCare reached an agreement with federal health officials to extend operations, although the way hospitals receive funding for reimbursed costs will change in the next several years.
The waiver that allows Tennessee to run TennCare expired at the end of June, but the state received several extensions as its officials negotiated with federal officials about changes to funding pools that help hospitals offset uncompensated care costs. The new waiver runs through June 2021.
The U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is moving to a system in which hospitals receive funding based on performance and utilization rather than unreimbursed costs - a change that carries significant impact for hospitals, particularly rural and safety-net facilities, around the state.
Read more at our news partner's website, tennessean.com.