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Since the public health emergency declaration during the COVID-19 pandemic is expiring after three years, residents who have TennCare benefits are reminded that they have to reapply for those benefits beginning now and lasting until next March.

To that end, the Tennessee Justice Center participated a TennCare clinic at Morristown-Hamblen Central Services Thursday.

Shana Watkins, outreach coordinator with the Tennessee Justice Center, contacted Tish Jones several months ago about coming to Morristown.

The TJC is a nonprofit organization that helps Tennesseans connect and stay connected to benefits, such as healthcare. The TJC also helps with nutritional benefits, such as SNAP, WIC and TANF.

“One thing I was trying to alert Jones to was TennCare renewals,” Watkins said. “With the unwinding of the public health emergency, TennCare, for the first time in three years, is going back to annual renewals. Everyone who is on TennCare will have to be, what we call in the healthcare world, redetermined.”

Watkins said that TennCare will have to look at individuals’ situations and determine whether these people are still eligible for benefits.

“That will involve sending out TennCare renewal packets to every enrollee in the state over the course of 12 months,” she said. “Not everyone will receive theirs this month, but thousands of people will.”

Packets will be sent out to TennCare patients at their last known address. Those whose addresses are not current are encouraged to install the TennCare Connect app on their smart phones. Watkins said that reaching patients will be a challenge.

“It’s going to be different for different groups of people,” Watkins said. “One group we’re particularly concerned about is anyone experiencing transition in address or homelessness. Packets are set to go to whatever address TennCare has on file for you. If you have moved, and so many have over the last three years, it may get sent to the wrong address, then you’ll get kicked off your healthcare.”

Those people won’t know they have been kicked off until they go to use their now expired benefits, Watkins said.

A woman whose benefits were not due to be renewed came to the Clinic and was directed to get onto the TennCare Connect app.

“That’s the portal that TennCare uses,” Watkins said. “Anyone who is experiencing the transition or anyone who wants to should download that app, make sure their address is accurate and they can receive notifications whenever they have paperwork due.

“The trick to that is you have to depend on the app and look at it every once in a while to make sure your notifications are set up,” she said.

Watkins is asking Local partners, such as Ready by Six and Central Services, to post things about TennCare renewals on their social media accounts for the next 12 months to get the word out further.

“We don’t want people to think, ‘Oh that just started in April. It’s over in April.’ It’s not over until spring of next year. (We have) a full 12-months to get everyone renewed.”

Watkins said that some people will find that they are no longer eligible for TennCare due to income change or changes in household.

“If anyone believes that TennCare has misinformation on them or that they actually should be eligible, they can give us a call,” Watkins said. “We have staff attorneys, client and advocates who can look into it to see if they can be eligible. That is why we exist.”

Other organizations who are advocating include Tennessee Healthcare Campaign, Family and Children’s Services and Rural Health Association. She also suggested for people to come to services like Central Services to get guidance, even if they have never received benefits.

“Even if they don’t know the answer, they know someone who does,” Watkins said. “The key words here are to stay connected, ask questions, know that there are people out here doing the work, you just have to find them. It’s not hard to do when you have good people such as Ashley Hux (M-HCC executive director) and Tish Jones in the community.

“Central Services is a phenomenal organization and they’re always looking to put people together with people who can help,” Watkins said.

The language barrier may also be a factor, Watkins said.

“One thing we can do to help those families is to make sure any communication we put out, (they are) in different languages,” she said. “We’ve been doing that. I often have people who ask if we have ‘this’ in Spanish. When you call TennCare, you will have the opportunity to choose a bilingual agent. However, there are still some barriers. We have interpreters we employ, even for different dialects.”

Watkins said that the changes will affect a lot of children and individuals with disabilities.

TennCare does its job better when it knows what people really need, Watkins said.

“They are in the business of making sure people get healthcare, not disenrolling people,” she said. “They don’t to disenroll people.”

Watkins said that benefits are uplifting for those who need them.

“If we want people to lift up and reach up and have upward mobility socially and economically, these benefits are very essential to that,” she said.

Hux said that Central Services has always valued partnerships within the community.

“We are sometimes called to reach beyond the local level and bring in experts from other regions that can effectively assist low-income families,” Hux said. “Inviting the TJC to come and assist families at Central Services with their TennCare re-enrollment needs not only prevented multiple children from losing their healthcare coverage, but also spotlights the incredible value that social service related partnerships can have when fostered and maintained.

“Between Central Services, Ready by 6, the Hamblen County Health Department, and HOLA Lakeway, an impact was made that improves the chances of countless children living in low income homes to thrive and create a successful future for themselves,” Hux said.

For more information, contact Watkins at 615-846-4716 or Central Services at 423-586-9431. Central Services is a participating agency of the United Way of Hamblen County.