Page 9

August 1, 2019 Division of TennCare 9

Families and Children Manual Section: Non-Financial Eligibility Requirements Policy Manual Number: 005.010 Chapter: Citizenship and Immigration

satisfactory immigration status. An enrollee is not required to re-verify citizenship or immigration status unless he reports a change or TennCare becomes aware of a change in the individual’s status, and the enrollee’s citizenship or immigration status cannot be verified using an electronic data source or by acceptable documentary evidence. For current enrollees, the 90-day ROP will begin on the date that the enrollee receives notice of the ROP. The date on which the enrollee receives notice is considered to be 5 days after the date on the notice, unless the individual shows that he did not receive the notice within the 5-day period.

During the ROP, TennCare must accept a declaration of citizenship or immigration. TennCare must not delay, reduce, or terminate benefits for an applicant who is otherwise TennCare Medicaid- or CoverKids-eligible during this period.

If an applicant must provide information in addition to verification of citizenship, for example, verification of residence, she has 10 days from the day on which the notice is received to return the additional information. If verification of residence is provided within the 10 days, but verification of citizenship remains outstanding, a period of reasonable opportunity for verification of citizenship will be invoked.

b. Reasonable Opportunity Period

During the ROP, the state must assist the applicant with securing acceptable verification. This may include, but is not limited to:

i. Assisting the individual in obtaining a Social Security Number; ii. Attempting to resolve any inconsistencies, including typographical or other clerical errors, between information provided by the individual and data from an electronic data source, and resubmit corrected information to the electronic data source; iii. Providing the individual with information on how to contact the source of the electronic data so that he can attempt to resolve such inconsistencies; and iv. Permitting the individual to provide other documentation of citizenship or immigration status, as listed in this section.

If satisfactory citizenship or immigration verification is received by the 90th day, the individual’s eligibility will continue based on the initial application date and no additional action will be taken.

If citizenship or immigration verification is received during the 90-day ROP that shows that the individual is not a U.S. citizen or an eligible immigrant, eligibility may be terminated. If satisfactory citizenship or immigration verification is not received by the 90th day, eligibility will be terminated.