250k Tennesseans could lose TennCare, private insurance under Congressional spending bill

U.S. Capitol building in Washington, D.C. (Photo: Jennifer Shutt/States Newsroom)

Proposed cuts in federal healthcare spending on Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act could force more than 250,000 Tennesseans to join the ranks of the uninsured, an analysis by the Kaiser Family Foundation found. 

Healthcare advocates are closely following House debate over a legislative package that would make significant changes to Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplaces. 

The reconciliation bill would cut Medicaid spending nationwide by at least $716 billion, representing the single largest cut in the program’s history, a separate analysis by the Congressional Budget Office found. 

The bill would achieve those cuts in a variety of ways, including by introducing stricter enrollment and work requirements for the low-income and disabled Tennesseans who rely on TennCare, Tennessee’s Medicaid program.

The bill would also eliminate so-called premium tax credits that have helped individuals purchase their own health insurance on the Affordable Care Act marketplace. 

Together, the two provisions could cost between 190,000 – 310,000 Tennesseans access to TennCare or private insurance through the healthcare marketplace, according to Kaiser Family Foundation.

Much, however, remains in flux about the final language of the omnibus federal spending bill as it heads to a vote on the House floor. The bill includes a significant increase in spending on immigration enforcement and an extension of tax cuts created during President Donald Trump’s first administration.