Advocates want safety net to catch TennCare’s sickest

Healthcare advocates fear that 140,000 TennCare enrollees will lose their benefits in the coming year, and are urging legislators to create a safety net. The Tennessee Health Care Campaign calls for using up to $125 million of existing TennCare budget money to treat the sickest of these enrollees, who have been exempt from annual eligibility checks and are expected to face re-evaluation. The funds would be used to treat about 20,000 people with severe mental illness and life-threatening conditions.