NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — For 11-year-old Lucas, a trip to the doctor could cost thousands of dollars.
"He was diagnosed with epilepsy three years ago," said his mother Ashley Eades. "He had a seizure at school and he had fallen down in the hallway and he didn't remember what happened."
Which is why Eades was shocked to learn he was dropped by TennCare.
"So I got on the phone with TennCare and I'm just like, 'what's going on? Like there's no reason for him to not be qualified for this. I'm a single mom'," she said.
As bills piled up and with nowhere to turn, she learned about the Tennessee Justice Center.
"I definitely was at a point where I couldn't handle it anymore and I didn't know who else to talk to," Eades said, holding back tears in the video above.
"So right now we're in the middle of a red tape hurricane for Tennessee families," said executive director of the Tennessee Justice Center, Michele Johnson.
The organization has helped thousands of people like Lucas who lost coverage after a pandemic-era pause on terminations was lifted in April.
"What we're finding is 75% to 80% of people who are losing coverage are not losing it because they're ineligible, but they're losing it because they can't navigate the red tape," Johnson said,
Johnson said 20,000 of those who lost coverage were children.
"Every month about 80,000 people will be getting notices over an 18 month period," she said.
But with help from The Justice Center, TennCare reinstated Lucas's insurance. Still, Ashley said the fight is far from over.
"We still have medical bills that need to be resolved, I just got a $1,500 dollar medical bill, a $500 medical bill that I'll still need to be resolved," said Eades.
