TennCare Eligibility Changes
What You Need to Know About Upcoming Medicaid Eligibility Changes
Medicaid eligibility rules are changing. You may need to meet a new monthly work requirement to qualify for Medicaid and keep your coverage. Some states have already started the new requirement and others will start soon. In Tennessee, only a small number of TennCare members fall into the group who must meet the new requirement, and these members have already shown they have enough income to meet the requirement. TennCare can verify these members meet the requirement automatically based on income information provided to the state when someone enrolls in TennCare. Therefore, no additional action is needed for most people.
What’s the New Work Requirement?
If the new requirement applies to you, you must spend at least 80 hours each month on one or more of these activities:
- Working (or earning at least $580 a month).
- Doing volunteer or community service.
- Participating in certain job-training programs.
- Participating in an educational program (like college, technical programs, or General Educational Development (GED) programs). If you’re enrolled in school at least half-time (as defined by your school), you likely meet the new requirement. If you’re enrolled less than half-time, your school hours can count toward your 80 hours.
You can combine different activities to reach your 80 hours.
If you have questions about how the new work requirement impacts you, visit https://www.tn.gov/tenncare/information-statistics/notices.html.
What You Should Do
- Update your contact information. Make sure TennCare has your current information (like address, phone number, and email address) so they can contact you about these eligibility changes.
- Check your mail and email. TennCare will send you a letter or email in the next few months if the eligibility changes apply to you.
- Track your activities. Keep track of any work, volunteer, job training, or school hours you complete each month. Start now so you’ll be ready to show you meet the new requirement when it’s time to renew your coverage.
- Follow-up with your state. Contact your state Medicaid office to find out what else you can do or provide to keep your coverage.
- Gather documents. Gather important medical or legal documents in case you need to show TennCare you qualify for an exclusion.
What If You Don’t Meet the New Work Requirement?
If the new requirement applies to you and you don’t meet it, your state might end your Medicaid coverage or deny your application.
If this happens:
- You can apply again at any time. Visit Medicaid.gov/about-us/where-can-people-get-help-medicaid-chip to get started if you lose coverage.
- You might be able to get health coverage through the Health Insurance Marketplace®, but you might not qualify for financial help to lower your monthly premium. Visit HealthCare.gov to find or enroll in a health plan or call 1-800-318-2596 (TTY: 1-855-889-4325).
More Information
Have more questions? Find organizations and other resources that can help.
By selecting links in the “TennCare” and “Public Resources” sections below, you will be leaving the CMS.gov website. These external links are not the responsibility of, or under the control of, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Some of these links may be to non-federal government websites (.gov). CMS disclaims responsibility for the content and privacy policies of non-.gov websites.
TennCare
Get more information about eligibility and coverage through TennCare.
Public Resources
Use these public resources to find organizations that can help you take steps to keep your coverage.