§ 71-5-135 — State unemployment health care benefits - Scope - Conditions

If a person who previously had health insurance through their employer becomes uninsured due to bona fide closure of the employer's business or plant, such person, and the person's dependents shall automatically be eligible to enroll in the TennCare program at the expiration of the eighteen-month period authorized for continuing insurance coverage under COBRA. The department shall accept the application of such person prior to the expiration of the eighteen-month period so that health insurance through TennCare will begin immediately upon expiration of COBRA coverage and such person and the person's dependents will at no time be without health care coverage. However, nothing in this section shall be construed or interpreted to provide TennCare coverage in situations where a business or plant declares bankruptcy or otherwise declares it is going out of business when the purpose, primary or otherwise, of such declaration is to establish TennCare coverage for its employees and the business or plant intends to reopen under the same or another identity with essentially the same ownership or management, or both. Reopening of a business with the same or another identity and essentially the same ownership or management, or both, shall be considered refutable evidence that the earlier closure was for the purpose of establishing TennCare eligibility for the business's employees. It is the legislative intent that this section be implemented only to the extent that it is determined to be consistent with the terms, conditions and eligibility criteria of the TennCare waiver as approved by the United States department of health and human services.

Legislative History

Acts 1994, ch. 857, § 1.