Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam has said his decision on whether to expand the state’s Medicaid program will come before the end of the summer... and now new federal rules could influence that decision.
On July 5th, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services released the final rules that will govern state implementation of the Affordable Care Act. The Act calls on states to offer Medicaid insurance to anyone making up to 138% of the federal poverty line. The federal government will pay the full cost of newly eligible enrollees through 2016 and at least 90 percent through 2020.
But Governor Haslam has said he won’t accept that deal and now says that some of the new rules regarding cost-sharing could diminish the possibility that he would expand Tennessee’s Medicaid program, TennCare. His current plan is to expand the program by purchasing private coverage for the uninsured.
He says state officials are still researching what the new federal rules could mean for Tennessee.
