Vote on TennCare work requirements delayed

NASHVILLE — After a bill seeking to impose work requirements on TennCare recipients was delayed in the Senate Thursday morning, House Speaker Beth Harwell doubled down on her call for beneficiaries to work, volunteer or attend a school.

When asked for her thoughts on Danielle Alaimo — a 34-year-old TennCare recipient who takes care of her disabled 4-year-old son Malcolm — Harwell initially said, “It won’t apply to her.”

But Alaimo contends the measure will apply to her in two years when her son becomes six years old — the cutoff age outlined in the bill.

The proposal, sponsored by Sen. Kerry Roberts, R-Springfield and Harwell, R-Nashville, directs the state Department of Finance and Administration to seek a federal waiver to impose work requirements for able-bodied, workingage TennCare recipients without dependent children under 6 years old.

Those affected by the legislation would be parents or caretakers with children from 6 to 20 years old.

“It would be really good for (Alaimo) to work, or volunteer or go back to school and learn a trade,” said Harwell, who is seeking the Republican nomination for governor.

The speaker said TennCare — the state’s Medicaid program — is not a lifetime entitlement program but rather one to help people experiencing difficult times.

“We are helping her through a rough time. We want to help her become independent,” Harwell said. “The best thing that she can do is have an employment.”

Harwell abruptly ended the interview reiterating Alaimo would be exempt from the requirement

The speaker’s comments came after Roberts asked that the measure to be sent back to the Senate calendar committee — a procedural move that delays a floor vote on the bill until a future date.

Roberts declined to explain why he made the move, deferring to Lt. Gov. Randy McNally, R-Oak Ridge.

Speaking to reporters, McNally said the bill was among the items he discussed with state and federal officials when he was recently in Washington, D.C.

“I just wanted to check with the (Trump) administration and make sure that implementation of that bill is lined up and goes smoothly,” he said.

McNally said he remained concerned about the potential that the bill could cost as much as $40 million, although the measure was amended to use federal funds from the Temporary Assistance for Need Families program to pay for its implementation.

In their own news conference, Democrats, including House Minority Craig Fitzhugh, D-Ripley, were critical of the proposed use of TANF funds.

“It’s stupid,” said Fitzhugh, who is seeking the Democratic nomination for governor. “It’s totally political.”

Sen. Jeff Yarbro, D-Nashville, said for Republicans the measure was either “an empty symbolic gesture, just to indicate that you want to stand this way and advance your Republican primary prospects, or they are substantively not telling the truth.”

But McNally dismissed the notion that politics are playing a role in the legislation.

“We want to pass the bill, but we want to make sure its implemented correctly and to the extent that we can hold down the cost,” he said.

Stephanie Whitt, executive vice president of Beacon Impact, a non-profit partner of the Beacon Center of Tennessee, said the federal government’s encouragement of states to pursue similar waivers has left her confident that any residual issues with the bill will be resolved quickly.

“When Senate leaders allow it to come up for a vote, it’s going to pass overwhelmingly, and as a result, it’s going to help move more of our fellow Tennesseans out of poverty,” Whitt said.

When asked about Alaimo’s case, McNally was significantly less pointed than Harwell.

“If there’s not other alternatives to provide for care for that child ... and the woman’s not in a position where she can move into a job where she can afford her enough money to have somebody take care of the child while she’s at work, I think that’s something we would need to look at,” he said.

Yarbro has introduced an amendment to the Senate version of the bill that would exempt people like Alaimo from the measure. The amendment also exempts individuals experiencing domestic violence.

McNally said he anticipated the questions he has about the bill to be answered in the coming days.