CHILDREN’S HEALTH
Tennessee’s children do better with comprehensive healthcare
If you need assistance during this time, visit our directory of resources for information about eligibility for various public programs, food assistance, the increased Child Tax Credit and more. Click here. As the COVID-19 vaccine is distributed, find out how you can access a vaccine with our COVID-19 Vaccine Resource Hub.
CHILDREN’S HEALTH
TJC is a strong, independent voice for children. We help individuals and advocate for all Tennessee children through education, advocacy and public policy.
We educate the public and policymakers about the importance of vital children’s healthcare programs, such as Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), and the need to preserve, protect and improve these programs to better meet the needs of children and families in Tennessee. Failing to preserve these programs would adversely impact children and the healthcare infrastructure overall.
We educate community partners and advocates through in-person and virtual trainings, education materials, and our monthly newsletter. Please visit our Resources section to find information that could be helpful to you.
We represent individual clients, including children and families, who need assistance to appeal a denial of medical services or enrollment under TennCare (Medicaid), CoverKids (CHIP), CHOICES, or ECF CHOICES. For help with children’s coverage issues, please visit our Need Help page, or call 615-255-0331 if you or someone you know needs our services.
HIGHLIGHTS
RESOURCES
2021
August – Block Grant Comment Period Open
July – Make CHIP Permanent
June – Health Disparities: High Uninsured Rates for Latino Children
May – TennCare Postpartum Coverage Extension/2021 State of Babies Yearbook
Apr – State of America 2021 Children’s Report
Mar – The American Rescue Plan & What’s In It for Kids?
Feb – Katie Beckett Program Update
Jan – Child Well-being Rankings
2020
12/16 – Impact of COVID-19 on Children’s Health in Tennessee
11/19 – Ensuring Children with Disabilities Get Vital Services
10/21 – 38% Increase in Uninsured Kids
9/16 – CoverKids to move to TennCare MCOs
8/19 – TennCare enrollment slow, CoverKids declining
7/15 – Health Disparities in Tennessee
6/11 – Postpartum Coverage
5/13 – Health Equity
4/22 – Enrollment Assistance and Increasing Access to Healthcare
3/25 – COVID-19 Updates and Resources
2/12 – Policy Solutions to Address Infant and Maternal Mortality
1/15 – ACA Ruling Leaves Law’s Future in Jeopardy
2019
12/11 – Medicaid Block Grant Federal Comment Period Open
11/14 – TennCare Hopes to Expand Postpartum Coverage
10/9 – 83,000 Tennessee Children are Uninsured
9/11 – New Census Data Shows TN Falling Behind
8/14 – New TJC Policy Brief Explains Children’s Coverage Losses
7/15 – At Least 220,000 Kids Lost TennCare Because of Red Tape
6/12 – Proposed Changes to the Federal Poverty Measure
5/15 – Katie Beckett Waiver Passed
4/11 – Promoting Children’s Health in Tennessee
3/13 – Medicaid Block Grants
2/11 – The Economic Cost of Adverse Childhood Experiences in Tennessee
1/9 – Stop the Addition of Work Reporting Requirements
2018
12/10 – Submitting Your Federal Comments
11/14 – We Need the Katie Beckett Wavier
10/10 –Policies Impacting Tennessee
9/13 – Healthy Kids are Better Learners
8/16 – A New Threat to Immigrant Families
7/12 – Promoting Health Equity
6/7 – Children Need Essential Health Coverage
5/3 – Keeping the Core Focus of the Farm Bill
4/6 – Mothers: Speaking Up for Themselves and Their Children
3/9 – There’s Peace of Mind Knowing Your Kids Are Covered
2/8 – Insure Our Kids Campaign
1/4 – TennCare Redetermination
2017
12/14 – Giving Back to Tennessee’s Children
11/18 – Premature Births on the Rise in Tennessee
11/1 – The Champion Act
10/19 – Funding Critical Health Subsidies
10/4 – Vital Programs Need Reauthorization
9/21 – Rejecting the Graham-Cassidy Bill
9/8 – Educating Ourselves and Our Communities
8/23 – The Importance of the Reauthorization of CHIP
8/9 – Health Coverage Helps Kids Excel in School
7/28 – Get Involved in Improving Our Health Care System
7/14 – The Impact of the Better Care Reconciliation Act
6/30 – Let Us, Help You!
6/16 – Children’s Health Facts
Back to School Info Session
Addressing Child Mental Health Webinar
2020 Katie Beckett Webinar
May 2017 Webinar Series
Webinar I: Medicaid/TennCare
Webinar II: CHIP/CoverKids
Webinar III: SNAP
Webinar IV: Federal Threats to Children’s Health Coverage
Children’s Coverage Flyer – English
Children’s Coverage Flyer – Spanish
Help Children Get Covered Flyer
Coverage for Former Foster Youth
Katie Beckett Waiver Fact Sheet
2020 Uninsured Children Fact Sheet (English) (Somali) (Arabic) (Spanish)
2020 CHIP Fact Sheet (English) (Somali) (Arabic) (Spanish)
TennCare as a Secondary Coverage Option for Pregnant Moms (English) (Somali) (Arabic) (Spanish)
Breaking the Cycle: How Tennessee’s Health Crises Relate to Adverse Childhood Experiences – Children’s Health Intern Rashmi Bharadwaj, November 2020
Rooted in Racism: An Analysis of Health Disparities in Tennessee – Senior Director of Health Policy and Advocacy Kinika Young, July 2020
How Tennessee Became an Outlier in the Rising Number of Uninsured Children and What Must Happen to Reverse the Trend – Staff Attorney Chris Coleman, July 2019
Work Reporting Requirement for Tennessee Parents Would Harm Low-Income Families with Children – Georgetown University Center for Children and Families and the Tennessee Justice Center, January 2019
Why are Tennessee moms and babies dying at such a high rate? – Children’s Health Intern Anna Lummus & Health Policy Associate Anna Walton, September 2018
Trump Administration’s New Policy on Unemployed Workers – Staff Attorney Chris Coleman, January 2018
Medicaid’s Important Role to Curb Opioid Abuse: An Underutilized Tool in Tennessee – Director of Children’s Health Kinika Young, October 2017
The Importance of CHIP Reauthorization – King Child Health Fellow De Vann Sago, September 2017
The American Health Care Act is a Bad Deal for Tennessee – Staff Attorney Chris Coleman, May 2017
If you need assistance due to the Covid-19 pandemic, please click here. You will find helpful information and links to apply for a variety of benefits designed to help Tennesseans during this national emergency.
Make Sure Support for Kids Stays for Good!
Thousands of Tennessee children have lost health insurance. Many parents don’t know.
Please call 1-877-608-1009 if your child has lost their coverage. Almost every child is eligible for free or low-cost health insurance through TennCare or CoverKids.
OUR PROJECTS AND INITIATIVES
How to get health insurance for my child in Tennessee
How can I help children get health insurance in Tennessee?
INSURE OUR KIDS
We are on a mission to enroll every eligible child in Tennessee in Medicaid and CHIP. These programs are instrumental in providing health insurance coverage to children in low- and middle-income families so that they can have a healthy start. Almost every uninsured child is eligible for Medicaid or CHIP, and they often need help with the application process. By partnering with other organizations, we are training volunteers and professionals who encounter uninsured children to help them enroll.
For more information about this campaign, visit insureourkids.org and read Director of Children’s Health Kinika Young’s blog in the Nashville Medical News. If you would like to sign up for training or if your organization is interested in becoming a partner, please contact a member of our team. With your help, we can bring the number of uninsured children in Tennessee to ZERO!
IMPROVING HEALTH OUTCOMES
TJC is committed to improving health outcomes for people of all races, ethnicities, gender, and sexes including sexuality from all across the state. Systemic discrimination has a longstanding history in national and state policies that negatively impact health outcomes for rural Tennesseans and marginalized groups. Our health equity work seeks to eliminate barriers to access by presenting research and policy solutions.
For regularly updated resources and information on health equity issues as well as a breakdown of the history of structural racism in Tennessee’s healthcare system, visit our Health Equity page.
OUR PROJECTS AND INITIATIVES
INSURE OUR KIDS
We are on a mission to enroll every eligible child in Tennessee in Medicaid and CHIP. These programs are instrumental in providing health insurance coverage to children in low- and middle-income families so that they can have a healthy start. Almost every uninsured child is eligible for Medicaid or CHIP, and they often need help with the application process. By partnering with other organizations, we are training volunteers and professionals who encounter uninsured children to help them enroll.
For more information about this campaign, visit insureourkids.org and read Director of Children’s Health Kinika Young’s blog in the Nashville Medical News. If you would like to sign up for training or if your organization is interested in becoming a partner, please contact a member of our team. With your help, we can bring the number of uninsured children in Tennessee to ZERO!
IMPROVING HEALTH OUTCOMES
TJC is committed to improving health outcomes for people of all races, ethnicities, gender, and sexes including sexuality from all across the state. Systemic discrimination has a longstanding history in national and state policies that negatively impact health outcomes for rural Tennesseans and marginalized groups. Our health equity work seeks to eliminate barriers to access by presenting research and policy solutions.
For regularly updated resources and information on health equity issues as well as a breakdown of the history of structural racism in Tennessee’s healthcare system, visit our Health Equity page.
CHILDREN’S CHAT
The Children’s Chat is a monthly policy newsletter/blog focused on children’s health issues led by Anna Walton and Kinika Young. You can sign up for other TJC newsletters here or join our Facebook community for regular conversations around these issues. Click here to access the children’s chat archive.
CHILDREN’S HEALTH VIDEOS
TJC’s Michele Johnson and Anna Walton and Georgetown Center for Children and Families’ Joan Alker discuss the importance of health coverage for children.
Lawyer Kinika Young left her job as a partner at Bass, Berry & Sims to work as the Director of Children’s Health at Tennessee Justice Center.
TJC’s Michele Johnson shares what inspired her to devote her career to fighting for children.
