Tennessee Unveils Its Sweeping Plan to Cap Medicaid Funding

Tennessee on Tuesday took the wraps off its first-in-the-country proposal to cap federal funding for its Medicaid program and phase out the open-ended entitlement in return for new flexibility, according to Politico Pro . The sweeping overhaul requires Trump administration approval to go into effect. It would apply to people traditionally covered by the program, including poor seniors in nursing communities, the disabled, children, and pregnant women. GOP legislators in Washington, opposed to Obamacare's Medicaid expansion, have said it is crucial to preserve coverage for these populations. Tennessee officials have call the draft proposal a "block grant." But it diverges from that approach in several ways, including adjusting how much funding the state would get if program enrollment grows. Over 1.3 million people are enrolled in TennCare, Tennessee's Medicaid program. The Volunteer State is one of 14 that has not joined Obamacare's Medicaid expansion for low-income adults. The state will be accepting public comment through Oct. 18, after which the plan will be sent to the Trump administration. Opponents have cautioned the approach could result in major cutbacks in health coverage for low-income people.