Written by a parent, not a doctor. Nothing here is medical advice.

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Ask TennCare to review care your child needs (EPSDT)

Children under 21 on Medicaid have a right to a broad review of medically necessary care, including services outside the usual list.

What it is

Children under 21 on Medicaid have a right to a broad review of medically necessary care, including services outside the usual list.

For a child under 21 on Medicaid, medically necessary care that fits a Medicaid benefit category must be covered, even when the plan’s usual list leaves it out. It is a coverage protection, not cash, and a doctor’s order is not automatic approval; the clinician explains the need and the plan reviews it.

Rules
  • The service must fit a federal Medicaid benefit category and meet medical-necessity rules.
  • TennCare medical appeals go through TennCare, including plan reconsideration and a state fair hearing if the dispute remains. The filing limit is 60 calendar days from the date on the denial notice, or awareness of the decision if no notice was given. Standard reconsideration is due within 14 calendar days of TennCare’s request; the standard process including a hearing generally finishes within 90 days. An approved urgent case has a 72-hour reconsideration clock, followed by a hearing decision within three working days if it is still unresolved. A letter asking for facts can require a response within 10 days. The notice and TennCare Medical Appeals, 1-800-878-3192, can confirm the deadline for your case.
  • For an existing approved service being reduced or stopped, ask TennCare separately about keeping the service during the appeal: the request deadline is the later of 10 calendar days after the notice or the proposed effective date, not the general 60-day appeal limit. The service must meet continued-benefit conditions, including a treating clinician’s order and the applicable prior-authorization conditions. This does not authorize a new service that TennCare has never paid for. Continued care can end after withdrawal, dismissal for lack of a factual dispute, or an initial adverse hearing decision; later review does not automatically keep it going. TennCare may seek repayment if the final decision goes against you, so discuss the notice and repayment risk with the social worker and TennCare Medical Appeals.
What you get
  • A route to coverage of nursing, equipment, therapies or other care the plan’s standard list omits.
  • Expedited review when waiting could harm your child.
What it is not
  • Not a promise of any service requested, and not a cash program.
If you decide to apply
  1. Ask the TennCare care manager, in writing, to review the specific service under EPSDT.
  2. Have the clinician send records describing the service, frequency, expected benefit and the risk of going without.
  3. If care is denied, ask for the written reason and appeal deadline. Ask the team about urgent review.

TennCare Member Medical Appeals, 1-800-878-3192 · Official page ↗

Records
  • Keep the request date and the plan’s reference number.
Good to know

Ask for a named care manager at the plan as soon as your child is enrolled; that is who receives these requests. If a service might be cut, do not wait for the reduction to happen before asking about continued services.

Other details
  • This applies inside Medicaid only; a work plan has its own appeal route (below).
  • The medical-appeal regulation shows an amendment effective October 6, 2021. Permitted extensions and delays have conditions; the notice and TennCare confirm how those conditions affect the particular clock.

Related Tennessee card: Nurses and aides at home through your health plan.

Official sources
Ask your social worker

“Once our child is on TennCare, if a service is refused, can the team ask for an EPSDT review, and who at the plan would we contact?”

Why I’m asking: We want to know the route before a refusal happens.

More background and detailed requirements
Additional program information and published rules

Who does what

The three parts, side by side. The agency decides; nobody on this page does.

You

Ask the plan for a care manager, keep a two-week log of the daily tasks, and put every request in writing under Medicaid's rule that a child under 21 gets what is medically needed.

Your social worker

Gets the care manager assigned and sends the request to the right approval desk.

The care team

Writes the order and the letter of medical necessity naming the service, the frequency and the risk without it.

Who decides
The Medicaid plan or agency, on medical necessity
Ask your social worker
“Can you get us a care manager at the Medicaid plan? Will the team write the letter asking for home nursing, equipment and rides?”

How to apply

First step: Ask the Medicaid plan for a care manager. Put the request in writing and ask for review under EPSDT.

  1. Ask the Medicaid plan for a care manager.
  2. Put the request in writing under EPSDT.
  3. Ask the clinician to write what the service corrects, how often, and the risk without it.

Where it starts: Written request to the plan's care manager. Medicaid appeal if denied

What to gather

  • The doctor's order and a letter of medical necessity
  • A two-week log of the daily tasks at home
  • Any denial letter, with the date

How long: An appeal of a “no” is decided within 30 days, or 72 hours when waiting is unsafe.

What a yes looks like

An approval with hours or units and a start date.

What a no looks like, and the next move

A written denial with appeal rights. Appeal within the notice's period and ask for benefits to continue.

Watch out

  • “Not a covered benefit” is not the end of it for a child. Ask the plan to review the request under Medicaid's rule that a child under 21 gets what is medically needed, in writing.
  • Medical necessity is still reviewed. The doctor's letter must say what the service corrects or prevents, how often, and what happens without it.
  • Nursing and personal care fit. A parent's wages for care usually do not, unless the state runs a paid-caregiver option.
  • Hospice does not mean stopping chemo for a Medicaid child. Since 2010 a child under 21 can have hospice and treatment at the same time. A CHIP-only plan can choose not to cover hospice; if it does, the same rule applies.

The numbers and the rules

The arcane layer, kept on purpose. Checked September 8, 2026.

What it is worth

Home nursing, personal care, equipment, therapies and transport paid by Medicaid on the doctor's word.

Covers: Private-duty nursing at home · Personal care · Feeding pumps, oxygen and other equipment · Therapies and behavioral health · Rides to treatment

Legal protection: Correct-or-ameliorate standard for any service in a Medicaid category · The state owes the benefit even when a managed-care plan says no · Hospice does not mean stopping treatment: since March 23, 2010 a Medicaid child under 21 can have hospice and curative care at the same time (a doctor still certifies a prognosis within six months for hospice)

What it costs the family: Part of Medicaid. No separate premium.

The eligibility facts, as published

Age under
21
Medicaid required
yes

Decisions this site cannot make: Medical necessity · Medicaid service category (section 1905(a))

Expect friction on: Prior approval · Clinical documentation

The trap: Medicaid's rule that a child under 21 gets what is medically needed changes the standard, not the review: the doctor's letter still has to say what the service corrects, how often, and what happens without it.

What changes by state: Nothing in the rule. The plan's forms and the state's paid-caregiver option do.

Where I read this

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