Tennessee will soon become the first state in the nation to offer free diapers to families registered in the state’s Medicaid program after getting federal permission, state officials have announced.
Tennessee will soon become the first state in the country to provide free diapers to families registered in the state’s Medicaid program after getting federal permission, state officials said.
TennCare, Tennessee’s Medicaid program, announced that beginning in August, families would be able to get up to 100 diapers each month for children under the age of two, which will be available at TennCare pharmacies.
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Tennessee
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services accepted Tennessee’s plan late last week. The proposal resulted from a 2023 program pushed by Republican Gov. Bill Lee to help families, for which lawmakers granted $30 million in TennCare money for free diapers.
“For infants and toddlers, a key benefit of adequate diaper supply is preventing diaper dermatitis, otherwise known as diaper rash, and urinary tract infections,” CMS noted in their approval letter to the state on May 17. “Diaper rash is one of the most common medical conditions for infants and toddlers, and changing diapers frequently is the mainstay of recommendations to prevent this condition.”
On average, newborn babies require eight to ten diapers each day, or approximately 300 diapers per month. Toddlers can use approximately 150 diapers each month.
“Strong families are central to strong communities, and Tennessee is leading the nation in prioritizing resources for families in need,” Lee said in a statement on Wednesday. “We are the first state in the nation to cover the cost of diapers for mothers in the first two years of a child’s life, and we hope this is a model for others.”
Along with granting the diaper benefit, CMS also approved raising TennCare’s income cap for parents to 100% of poverty. Previously, Tennessee’s income eligibility was based on particular monthly amounts rather than the federal poverty line.
As a result, a parent in a three-person home was previously limited to an income of approximately $1,600 per month. With the new modifications, the income limit jumps to about $2,000 a month.
According to a report from the Sycamore Institute, a Tennessee think tank, Tennessee currently has the highest income eligibility for parents and caregivers among the ten states that have not increased Medicaid eligibility for adults under the Affordable Care Act.
Tennessee announced earlier this year that it will only participate in a federal program that provides low-income families with $40 per child per month to pay for food while school is out for a year, opting out in 2025 because Lee’s administration contended that alternative food programs existed.
Meanwhile, public health activists say they were taken aback when the state announced in January that it would reject almost $9 million in federal funds for HIV prevention and treatment.
Instead, health officials decided to fund the HIV prevention program using state funds. This allowed Tennessee to circumvent federal regulations and refuse to support Planned Parenthood, which has long been chastised by Republicans for providing abortion and LGBTQ+ services.
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