Tennessee lawmakers are urging the federal government to provide a block grant so the state can expand Medicaid, according to a Nashville Business Journal report.
The request comes via a resolution, which the Tennessee Senate passed Wednesday.
It is not likely that the federal government will agree to provide the block grant, as the White House has opposed this option, according to the report.
The new resolution comes just weeks after a Senate committee killed Insure Tennessee, Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam's (R) alternative to straight Medicaid expansion under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, for the second time this year, the report reads. Insure Tennessee would have provided federally subsidized healthcare to an estimated 280,000 residents between the ages of 19 and 64 who are not otherwise eligible for Medicaid and have family incomes at or below 138 percent of the federal poverty level.
The new resolution, SJR 103, would address the same population, and lawmakers argue that "if the federal government were to block grant the same amount of federal funds now used to finance the TennCare, (the state's Medicaid) program, (Tennessee) could provide health insurance benefits to persons with incomes below 138 percent of the federal poverty line," according to the report.
More articles on healthcare finance:
Florida governor to sue feds for withholding hospital funding
HCA reports strong preliminary numbers, raises full-year guidance