Sen. Akbari: Lawmakers should reject Trump’s last ditch effort to endanger health coverage for Tennesseans

MEMPHIS — Sen. Raumesh Akbari, the Senate Democratic Caucus chairwoman, is calling on the legislature to reject an untested TennCare proposal approved in the waning days of the Trump administration.

The proposal, called a block grant, would radically change the way TennCare is financed without guaranteeing better coverage for current enrollees nor extending coverage to new enrollees.

Sen. Akbari says the Trump administration’s 11th hour approval is a last ditch effort to sabotage health coverage for more than a million Tennesseans.

Her statement is below:

Tennessee is in the worst health crisis of a century. No matter where you live in Tennessee, all our families need affordable and accessible healthcare.

The legislature should reject any last ditch effort by the lame duck Trump administration to endanger the health coverage of millions of Tennesseans. Instead lawmakers of both parties should be focused on working with President-elect Joe Biden to extend health coverage to every working Tennessean in the state. We have a workable plan and the need has never been greater.