The Division of TennCare and the Department of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (DIDD) announced that more than 290 children have been enrolled in the Katie Beckett Program since it opened for applications in late November 2020. To date, families have submitted 849 applications for the program through the TennCare Connect website.

The Katie Beckett Program is designed for children with disabilities and/or complex medical needs who are not currently Medicaid eligible because of their parent's income or assets. Tennessee's Katie Beckett Program has two parts. Part A provides Medicaid services to children with the most significant disabilities or complex medical needs. Part B is a Medicaid diversion program, which means children are not enrolled in Medicaid but receive a capped package of supports of up to $10,000 annually to help cover the cost of private insurance or care their insurance does not cover.

The Katie Beckett Program was passed by the General Assembly and signed into law in May 2019. The program was launched on November 23, 2020, three weeks after receiving federal approval from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Families who are interested in applying can fill out a self-referral form on the TennCare Connect website. Once the referral is completed, a DIDD case manager will contact them to follow up and continue the assessment process.