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Tell TennCare “NO” to Cutting Important Nursing Care!
Tell TennCare “NO” to Cutting Important Nursing Care! What’s going on: TennCare wants to change the rules for in-home nursing care. Right now, they look at what care a person needs for their health. The new rule would let TennCare decide based mostly on how much the care costs—not just on what a person needs. This change affects people in...
Threats to Medicaid
Threats to Medicaid in Tennessee Updates – 7/2/25:** After passing the House, the reconciliation bill (“Big Beautiful Bill” or “BBB”) has also passed through the Senate on a 51-50 margin, with Vice President JD Vance casting the tie-breaking vote. The Senate made several changes to the bill, including reductions to exemptions to the Medicaid work requirement for caregivers, shortening the...
2025 TDC Legislative Wrap Up
On April 22nd, the state legislature wrapped up the first year of the 114th Tennessee General Assembly session. This year’s session featured a special session on universal private school vouchers to kick things off, followed by an intense focus on the national immigration debate (among other debates) and concluded with a (sort-of) hard-top hurry-up near the end of session to...
4.11.25 TDC Weekly Public Policy Update
While the General Assembly scrambles to adjourn by their self-imposed (court-imposed?) deadline of April 17th, things are winding down for us advocates. Most bills are eyeing their final destinations for the year, with some being passed, others failing and yet others just waiting till next year. We’re not quite done, but we’re doing a bit of all of it (besides...
4.4.25 TDC Weekly Public Policy Update
Happy April, TDC Family! Less than 2 weeks, dear reader. That’s all we’ve got remaining in this session. We know this because the GA, for the first time in my (short) stint at Cordell Hull, have a hard-stop date: April 17th. And that is because more than 20 legislators have been called for the federal trial of Cade Cothren, former staffer for disgraced...
3.28.25 TDC Weekly Public Policy Update
I believe in good things, dear reader. I believe in the long arc of justice, and I believe in “we shall overcome”, I believe in a righteous order of things. But it’s hard to hold those beliefs sometimes, and it’s hard today. What’s easy to believe in though, at this moment in time, is you, dear readers. I believe in...
Dismantling the U.S. Dept of Education
On March 20th, President Trump issued an Executive Order directing the Department of Education to “take all necessary steps to facilitate the closure of the Department of Education and return authority over education to the States and local communities.” The Executive Order DOES NOT: End disability civil rights laws, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 or the Individuals with...
3.21.25 TDC Weekly Public Policy Update
The end is in sight, for better or for worse. Read about it here! 2025 TDC Priority Bills HB712/SB1178 – Freedom for Family Care Act – (aka Paid Family Caregiving: Part 1) this bill would prohibit TennCare from developing or implementing policies that discriminate against family caregivers in the provider-based employment This one had a week off to marinate in its DDH glory,...
3.14.25 TDC Weekly Public Policy Update
5 weeks, TDC family, That’s all we’ve got left of the session; keen readers will note that those final 1.5 to 2 weeks are “flow-motion”, where the General Assembly hammers out the budget (cough $4.5M for Network bill, cough). That means, that we’ve got maybe 3 weeks to get to our final destination. Timeline update aside, I want to take a small...
March 12, 2025 Legislative Committee Hearing Schedule
View Schedule (.docx)
3.7.25 TDC Weekly Public Policy Update
Happy March, TDC Family! Let’s get right to it this week: 2025 TDC Priority Bills HB712/SB1178 – Freedom for Family Care Act – (aka Paid Family Caregiving: Part 1) this bill would prohibit TennCare from developing or implementing policies that discriminate against family caregivers in the provider-based employment This one passed through TennCare sub with little to no concern A couple...
2.28.25 TDC Weekly Public Policy Update
It is go time, friends. Not just because things are starting to pick up speed at Cordell Hull, but also because they need to. Believe it or not, we’re at about the halfway point of the session. The Senate has set a hard stop date of April 17th, and this time I believe them. That means that the last week...