Civil Rights Compliance

Nondiscrimination Policy

TennCare doesn’t discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin including limited English proficiency and primary language, age, disability, or sex. TennCare doesn’t exclude people or treat them less favorably (differently) because of race, color, national origin, age, disability, or sex.

Here are a few examples of how the nondiscrimination laws work for you:

The TennCare program is available to people of all races, national origins, ages, sexes, religions, languages, or disability status who meet TennCare’s eligibility requirements.

Your health plan and TennCare can’t deny you covered services only because of your race, color, national origin, ability to speak English, age, sex, or disability.

When you go to a TennCare doctor, the doctor cannot refuse to treat you, make you wait longer than other people, or give you a lower level of care than other people because of your race, color, national origin, ability to speak English, age, sex, or disability.

If you don’t speak English or have trouble speaking English, your doctor, health plan, and TennCare must give you a qualified language interpreter and effectively communicate with you.

If you have a disability that impacts how you communicate, your doctor, health plan, and TennCare must give you an auxiliary aid or service to effectively communicate with you.

If you have a disability, the doctor’s office should be accessible to you like having accessible medical equipment such as exam tables that raise and lower and an accessible building like sidewalks with ramps.

TennCare has free auxiliary aids and services to communicate effectively with you. Auxiliary aids and services are types of help like:

  • Qualified sign language interpreters and
  • Written information in large print, audio, accessible electronic formats, letter reading, Braille, or other formats.

If your primary language is not English, TennCare offers free language help like:

  • Qualified interpreters and
  • Translations - Information written in other languages.

TennCare provides people with disabilities reasonable accommodations. Reasonable accommodations are reasonable changes to a rule, policy, practice, or service to help a person with a disability related need.

Also, TennCare has mitigating measures to help individuals with disabilities. Mitigating measures are measures that ensure that services, programs, and activities are readily accessible to and usable by individuals with disabilities.

The mitigating measures that TennCare makes available to individuals with disabilities include things like:

  • Your local Department of Human Services office can help you submit your application or renewal packet to TennCare
  • If you need long-term care or have a disability, your local Area Agency on Aging and Disability can help you complete your application or renewal packet
  • The TennCare Connect web portal is accessible to individuals with disabilities
  • TennCare Connect can help you complete your application, renewal packet, or file an appeal over the phone
  • Your TennCare health plan can help you complete your renewal packet
  • The Department of Disability and Aging (DDA) can help people with intellectual and developmental disabilities apply for long-term care, and

The Beneficiary Support System (BSS) helps people who are enrolled in the CHOICES, Employment and Community First (ECF) CHOICES, and the Katie Beckett program.

TennCare Connect

Do you need help applying for or renewing your TennCare, obtaining auxiliary aids and services, or obtaining language services to communicate with TennCare? Call TennCare Connect for free at 855-259-0701.

TennCare’s Office of Civil Rights Compliance

  • Reasonable accommodations
    If you need reasonable accommodations, contact TennCare’s Office of Civil Rights Compliance (“OCRC”).
  • Grievance/Complaint

    If you believe that TennCare failed to provide these services, or discriminated in another way on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, or sex, you can file a grievance/complaint with TennCare’s OCRC by email at HCFA.fairtreatment@tn.gov, mail at 310 Great Circle Road Floor 3W, Nashville, TN 37243, OCRC’s website, or calling 615-507-6474 (TRS 711). If you need help filing a grievance, call TennCare Connect for free at 855-259-0701.

It is simple and fast to file a discrimination complaint online. To file a free an online complaint in online complaint in English, online complaint in presione aquí Español, online complaint in Arabic: اﻟﻌربية

Do you need the TennCare Discrimination Complaint Form in English, Discrimination Complaint Form in Presione Aquí Spanish, or Discrimination Complaint Form in Arabic: العربية

To learn more about filing a complaint, read TennCare’s complaint procedures in English, TennCare’s complaint procedures in Spanish, or TennCare’s complaint procedures in Arabic.

Yes. On an annual basis, all TennCare staff receive training on TennCare’s nondiscrimination policies and procedures. New hires receive training as part of their onboarding process. All staff receive a nondiscrimination training handout, which includes information on TennCare’s nondiscrimination policies and procedures. All staff members can contact OCRC for assistance with helping a member or applicant.

Sometimes we all could use a helping hand, our community resource list contains items like food and housing help and contact information for other types of support.