Takeaways from AP's report on social safety nets in states that ban abortion States with restrictive abortion laws generally have more porous safety nets for mothers and young children, according to recent research and an analysis by The Associated Press.
Earlier this year, a federal judge ruled TennCare — the state's Medicaid program — unlawfully terminated coverage for thousands of families and had a “lethargic” response to nearly 250,000 children losing coverage because of paperwork problems.
For example, it boosted its Medicaid coverage for mothers in 2022 from 60 days postpartum to one year, which allowed an additional 3,000 moms to use the program each year.
The Republican supermajority in the Tennessee legislature has long rebuffed efforts to expand Medicaid to people earning up to 138% of the federal poverty level — about $35,600 for a family of three.
The state also raised the Medicaid income limit for parents to the poverty level — nearly $26,000 for a family of three — and began offering recipients 100 free diapers a month for babies under two.
