Tennessee Medicaid Long-Term Care

Tennessee's Medicaid program is called TennCare, and its main long-term-services vehicle for older adults and adults with physical disabilities is TennCare CHOICES in Long-Term Services and Supports. CHOICES covers qualifying nursing-facility stays as well as qualifying services delivered in a home or community setting.

The eligibility structure isn't one simple senior benefit — it's split into three groups. Group 1 covers people of any age who receive nursing-facility care. Group 2 covers adults with physical disabilities age 21 or older, plus people 65 and older, who meet nursing-facility level of care but choose home- and community-based services instead. Group 3 serves people who are at risk of needing nursing-facility care but aren't there yet, as long as home care keeps them from reaching that point.