Stories to Watch 2022: TennCare Coverage

In April, for the first time in three years, all of TennCare's 1.7 million members will be required to renew their enrollment in the program.

Prior to the COVID-19 public health emergency, members were responsible for proving that their income level and other demographic traits were still in compliance with TennCare limits on a yearly basis. But since January 2020, that process has been halted. In that time, enrollment has grown from a typical 1.4 million users to more than 1.7 million, and TennCare reps estimate that when all is said and done, more than 350,000 Tennesseans will no longer be eligible for the state-sponsored insurance.

The renewal process has been far from smooth in the past. TennCare Connect, a new online portal for applications and renewals, was launched in March 2019. Later that year, a Tennessean investigation revealed that at least 220,000 children lost coverage due to clerical errors in receiving and returning hard copies of renewal paperwork, even though many of those children were still eligible.

"There's going to be two groups," says Emilie Fauchet, a health care access navigator at area nonprofit Family & Children's Service. "One group of people who's truly no longer eligible, but who are probably very likely eligible for the [Affordable Care Act] marketplace, and then another group who is still technically eligible for TennCare but there was some procedural error in the processing of their application."

The unwinding program is expected to take 12 months, according to TennCare. Renewal information will be due according to typical renewal dates — meaning if a person was eligible for renewal in June 2020, they'll now be eligible in June of this year. Come April, TennCare hopefuls can confirm their eligibility date by calling or checking their TennCare Connect portal. In an effort to streamline the process, TennCare will fill in existing data — such as Internal Revenue Service income data and Supplementation Nutrition Assistance Program information — and if eligibility cannot be confirmed based on that, members will receive a renewal packet in the mail or by email.

Most recently, TennCare has sent a letter to all members — save for those on supplemental security income — steering members to its online portal to update contact information. Organizations like Family & Children's Service are gearing up to help navigate the bureaucracy, especially when it comes to users who are not tech-savvy.

"Not only do you have to receive the packet [and] fill it out, you've also got to send it back successfully, which means you've got to have access to one of several methods of sending that back," Fauchet told Scene sister publication Nashville Post in September. "Then TennCare has got to receive it and put it all in the system. So there's lots of steps there where there's room for things to get missed."

Fauchet advises members to update their contact information as soon as possible to ensure they don't miss their renewal packet. Those who no longer qualify for TennCare will have their information sent to the Affordable Care Act health insurance marketplace.

Members can update their information by accessing their online account at TennCareConnect.TN.gov, by calling 1-855-259-0701 or by using the TennCare Connect app. More information is available at tn.gov/tenncare/renewals.