Tennessee Medicaid Terminations

Problem Statement

In March 2019, Tennessee launched the TennCare Eligibility Determination System (TEDS), which was designed to streamline enrollment and redeterminations for Tennessee’s Medicaid program. The system’s launch was delayed for many years and plagued by technical setbacks. After its launch, many people’s Medicaid coverage was terminated. The reasons for these cuts are not completely understood, but are likely due to systemic defects—such as issues with interface design, inter-system communication, and underspecified notices to individuals. Advocates also said the redetermination process did not fully meet the accessibility needs of people with disabilities. Instead, it terminated people’s benefits or put them at risk of termination, even though reasonable accommodations should have existed. In 2020, the Tennessee Justice Center and partners filed a class-action lawsuit against the state, A.M.C. v. Smith.

Status of Issue

Litigation against the state is ongoing. The class-action lawsuit represents 35 adults and children across the state, and claims that “TennCare’s system for reevaluating eligibility is defective and fails to provide the notice and opportunity for hearing required by the Medicaid Act and the Constitution” and “TennCare’s eligibility redetermination process discriminates against people with disabilities.” A five day bench trial was held in November 2023 with post-trial briefing to be completed in early 2024.

Links to More Information

NHeLP lawsuit press release with complaint

TennCare website

At least 220,000 Tennessee kids faced loss of health insurance due to lacking paperwork - The Tennessean

A.M.C. v. Smith Recent Filing Explainer (Aug. 2023)