Bipartisan Bill Would Heighten Income Threshold for Tennesseans With Disabilities

A bill moving through the state legislature seeks to lift restrictions on working requirements for TennCare recipients with disabilities.

Sponsored by Rep. Darren Jernigan (D-Old Hickory), the TennCare for Working Individuals with Disabilities Act (House Bill 2940/ Senate Bill 2791) was picked up by Rep. Tim Hicks (R-Gray) and Sen. Bo Watson (R-Hixon) this session in an effort to garner bipartisan support, Jernigan tells Scene sister publication the Nashville Post.

Jernigan says Tennessee Disability Coalition advocate Robert Barberi proposed the idea, which focuses on care for Tennesseans with disabilities who still want to work but can't afford to lose the Medicaid coverage.

Jernigan describes the bill as the adult version of the Katie Beckett Waiver, which allows children with disabilities to be eligible for necessary Medicaid coverage even if their parents' income or assets are higher than the state's income threshold. The act would allow people over 21 who have a job to purchase private insurance or enroll in insurance coverage through their workplace while retaining their Medicaid, making Medicaid the second payer to private insurance. Tennessee would join the 46 other states with such an option under the Medicaid waiver, a federal provision that gives states flexibility on how to implement Medicaid.

The bill could save TennCare money by making the private insurance the primary payer Jernigan said.

Jeff Strand, the Tennessee Disability Coalition's director of public policy, describes the group's overall goals for the legislative session as focusing on health care access, special education and long-term support. The TennCare for Working Individuals with Disabilities Act fits neatly into TDC's legislative strategy of providing health care access, among other multiyear legislative efforts, including the Paid Family Caregiving Resolution, Tennessee Disability and Aging Act and TCA Placard Cleanup.

If passed, the bill would impact Barberi's quality of life, he tells the Post. Barberi describes how, after a car accident two years ago, he was met with stringent conditions imposed by TennCare if he wants to retain coverage, which he says is critical for those with his type of injury.

A former corporate finance employee, Barberi cannot earn more than $2,800 a month or hold more than $2,000 in assets and retain TennCare coverage. These constraints apply to both him and his spouse and can also limit people with disabilities from getting married and seeking employment, he says.

Barberi, a dual Vanderbilt University degree holder, says that by working, his family would have to shoulder his caregiving expenses (because his income would be too high for him to qualify for Medicaid).

Above all, Barberi emphasizes that HB2940/SB2971 is not a Medicaid expansion bill; rather, it's a marriage and employment bill.

"It's more about rights than taking taxpayers' money," Barberi says. "People hear about this bill, and they're thinking it's going to allow high-earners the ability to be on Medicaid, but we know from places like Washington and Maryland that 80 percent of people affected by this bill are already on Medicaid. There's a very targeted population that would be new to Medicaid."

HB2940 passed on Tuesday in the House insurance subcommittee and will be heard in the full insurance committee next.

This article was first published by our sister publication, the Nashville Post.