(a) To the extent that funds are specifically appropriated by the general appropriations act, including, but not limited to, any such funds that may be available from the bureau of TennCare’s reserve funds, the department of finance and administration, in coordination with the department of health and the department of mental health and substance abuse services, is authorized to facilitate the expansion and augmentation of a health care safety net in this state. The health care safety net provides medical assistance and dental assistance to individuals in need of medical care and dental care to adults in need of adult emergency dental services who are uninsured and who lack financial resources to secure medical and dental care. It is the legislative intent that priority should be given to efforts pursuant to this section that benefit the greatest number of such individuals. Such efforts may include, but not be limited to:

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Terms Used In Tennessee Code 71-5-148

  • Adult emergency dental services: means dental services for individuals twenty-one (21) years of age and older to treat a dental condition that manifests itself by symptoms of sufficient severity, including severe pain, infection or trauma, that:
    (A) A prudent layperson who possesses an average knowledge of health and medicine, could reasonably expect the absence of immediate dental attention to potentially result in:
    (i) Placing the person's, or with respect to a pregnant woman, her unborn child's, health in jeopardy. See Tennessee Code 71-5-103
  • Department: means the department of health. See Tennessee Code 71-5-103
  • Entitlement: A Federal program or provision of law that requires payments to any person or unit of government that meets the eligibility criteria established by law. Entitlements constitute a binding obligation on the part of the Federal Government, and eligible recipients have legal recourse if the obligation is not fulfilled. Social Security and veterans' compensation and pensions are examples of entitlement programs.
  • Medical assistance: means payment of the cost of care, services and supplies necessary to prevent, diagnose, correct or cure conditions in the person that cause acute suffering, endanger life, result in illness or infirmity, interfere with the person's capacity for normal activity, or threaten some significant handicap and that are furnished an eligible person in accordance with this part and the rules and regulations of the department. See Tennessee Code 71-5-103
  • Person: includes a corporation, firm, company or association. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories of the United States. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
(1) Improvement and expansion of the provision of medical assistance, both medical services and pharmacy, in the county health departments, with specific emphasis placed in providing assistance in those counties with the largest number of uninsured individuals; such support could include funding for additional staffing needs and facility expansion;
(2) Support for community-based health care facilities and practices, including not-for-profit clinics, faith-based facilities, community mental health agencies, and federally qualified health centers, for the provision of health care services to the uninsured;
(3) Incentive-based measures to encourage and promote physician involvement and treatment of the uninsured population, including specific steps taken to assist in providing for continuity of care, including specialty care, for such individuals, as well as targeted efforts at comprehensive disease management;
(4) Creation and implementation of a twenty-four-hour, seven-day a week health care safety net hotline designed to assist and direct individuals in need of medical care and services to available resources in their areas;
(5) Creation of a donated care referral system that can be easily accessed by individuals in need of medical care;
(6) Collaborative work with agencies and entities across the state to encourage citizens to volunteer their time, effort, and resources in creative efforts to assist in the overall care and well-being of uninsured individuals in this state; and
(7) Support for community-based providers of behavioral health services to seriously and persistently mentally ill adults who are uninsured and who lack financial resources to secure behavioral health care.
(b) Nothing established or supported pursuant to this section shall in any way be construed or determined to be an entitlement by any individual or entity to any medical assistance, medical services, or any pharmacy services, or, if such assistance or services are provided, to any continuing assistance or services by the state or by any other entity or person.
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