Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) is putting Tennessee's Medicaid system in the spotlight with a trio of new bills aimed at overhauling healthcare in the state. The ANCHOR Act, the Delivering Support for Hospitals in Tennessee Act, and the Medicaid Primary Care Improvement Act collectively seek to address gaps and enhance the quality of care for Tennesseans, particularly those grappling with severe mental illness or substance use disorders, and to correct a long-standing funding disparity that has affected the state's hospitals, according to the press release.
The standout of these measures, the ANCHOR Act, would grant Medicaid coverage for up to a year for individuals contending with serious behavioral health challenges. States would be required to furnish a care plan for Medicaid enrollees within 60 days of their joining the program. The significance of this can't be understated, as Mental Health America's Tim Clement highlighted in a statement obtained by Senator Blackburn's press release, "People with serious mental illnesses and substance use disorders who lack insurance coverage are at great risk of suicide and overdose, and this bill will help them receive treatment and begin their journey to recovery."
Moreover, the DSH in Tennessee Act aims to secure a permanent Disproportionate Share Hospital (DSH) allotment for Tennessee by fiscal year 2026 – a change that is overdue considering that Tennessee is the sole state without such funding on a permanent basis. This adjustment is expected to lend stability to hospitals that deliver care to a high volume of low-income patients. The bill also proposes that Tennessee's DSH allotment should increase annually to match inflation rates, a move that could safeguard against the financial uncertainty that hospitals in the state often confront.
The third piece of Blackburn’s legislative package, the Medicaid Primary Care Improvement Act, introduces the concept of Direct Primary Care Arrangements (DPC) into Medicaid's remunerative structures. DPC practices would be contracted to provide comprehensive primary care services for a fixed, monthly fee – tentatively improving access to care, diminishing emergency room traffic, and reducing superfluous healthcare spending. Presently, Blackburn's office cites potential benefits ranging from better healthcare delivery to cost savings for the Medicaid program.
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