Nashville Public Radio

By: Blake Farmer

A proposed change to how Tennessee’s Medicaid program is funded by the federal government has some health care advocates worried. The state could be one of the first to ask for a so-called “block grant” to pay for the health care of low-income residents.

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The legislation, HB1280/SB1428, would direct TennCare to negotiate for a block grant. Any deal struck with the Trump administration would likely have to come back to the legislature for approval.

Some progressives have hoped a block grant could double as a way to expand the Medicaid program to cover the working poor, which they’ve been trying to do since 2012. But as the measure has progressed through the legislature, Democrats like Larry Milller of Memphis have tried to amend the proposal, to no avail.

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