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Health Department seeks funds for dental care, Ryan White insurance assistance, naloxone and rural health projects
Summary
The Tennessee Department of Health presented FY27 requests including $24 million nonrecurring for the Healthy Smiles dental pilot, continued LMU dental services, an $18 million state increase to sustain Ryan White insurance assistance for roughly 7,700 Tennesseans, 20,002 naloxone units, and shared‑savings capital to leverage a $207 million federal rural health award; the committee referred the budget to Finance.
The Tennessee Department of Health presented its FY27 budget priorities to the Senate Health and Welfare Committee, emphasizing workforce and rural capacity investments.
"The 1st request is 24,000,000 nonrecurring" for the Healthy Smiles dental pilot to sustain training and service delivery in rural clinics, a TDH official said. The department highlighted partnerships with UT and Meharry to expand dental rotations and cited thousands of patient visits produced by student rotations during FY24–25.
TDH requested a roughly $18,000,000 state increase for the Ryan White Insurance Assistance Program to preserve insurance coverage for about 7,700 low‑income Tennesseans living with HIV amid rising marketplace premiums. John Webb, TDH deputy commissioner for operations, told senators the overall Ryan White program costs approximately $58–60 million and that rising premiums drove the supplemental request.
The department also requested nonrecurring naloxone purchases (20,002 units) targeted to high‑need areas, recurring rent increases for an expanded state public health laboratory, and shared‑savings capital — including a proposed $125,000,000 state commitment layered over a $207,000,000 federal award — to support rural health transformation projects. TDH described $712,000,000 in ARPA‑funded projects that remain on schedule.
Senators asked about an apparent $500,000 reduction to a victims of violent crime program; TDH staff said low recent intake (nine requests) justified the reduction while $1,000,000 remains to cover expected needs. The committee recorded a roll‑call referral of the department’s budget to Finance.
