On Monday, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services released a report showing that Tennessee can greatly improve access to behavioral health services for its residents by expanding Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act.
In Tennessee, 114,000 uninsured people with a mental illness or substance use disorder had incomes that could qualify them for expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act in 2014, the most recent year for which data is available. The report also finds that people with behavioral health needs made up a substantial share of all low-income uninsured individuals: in Tennessee, about 35.8 percent.
While some of these individuals had access to some source of health insurance in 2014, many will only gain access to coverage if Tennessee expands Medicaid, and others would gain access to more affordable coverage.
The report estimates that if Tennessee expanded Medicaid, 16,000 fewer individuals would experience symptoms of depression and 24,000 additional individuals would report being in good or excellent health.
Click here to access the full report in PDF format.
I cannot imagine why Tennessee opted out of Medicaid. It is so backward and Tennessee should be trying to become more like states that have the best education and the best health coverage.