Patient & Family Support
Patient & Family Support connects patients to necessary services in the community including medical referrals and social service programs. We are committed to providing need-driven services in a timely, individualized manner.
Certified Application Counselors (CACs) are responsible for navigating eligibility for TennCare, CoverKids and other marketplace insurances. They assist with applications, appeals, renewals and faxing paperwork. If a patient is not eligible for insurance, the CAC will employ Mercy's sliding scale program for payment or enrollment in other financial programs. Mercy’s CACs are bi-lingual.
Patient Navigators serve as contacts, advocates and resources for individuals and families to social or medical agencies. The navigator connects patients and families to necessary appointments and programs as requested by the providers. Mercy’s Patient Navigators are bi-lingual.
Please call our office during regular business hours at 615.790.0567 to speak with a Certified Application Counselor.
After Hour Care. Mercy Community Healthcare’s providers are dedicated to serving our patients 24 hours a day. If you are unsure whether an illness or injury that you or your child sustained requires emergent attention, please call our office at 615.790.0567. During office hours, you will be referred to a triage nurse. After hours, you will be referred to our answering services, where an on-call nurse and/or provider will speak with you.
Are you uninsured, or are you looking for a more affordable plan?
Healthcare.gov enrollment is November 1-December 15 and you may qualify, even if you were denied in the past. Recent changes to immigration* and income thresholds* mean you should talk to an insurance specialist to see if you may be eligible! Call Mercy at 615-790-0567 ext 4105 for free assistance.
To qualify for a Marketplace health insurance plan through healthcare.gov, you must file a 2025 tax return. Eligibility for these health plans is based on tax household size and expected 2025 gross income (income between 100%-400% FPL for MOST people).
Income that is too high for Tenncare would qualify for Marketplace coverage. If you receive a termination or denial from TennCare, and you are not offered affordable* health insurance through a job of someone in your family, you can enroll through healthcare.gov and qualify for premium tax credits that lower the monthly cost of the plan. You can enroll anytime during open enrollment which is annually Nov 1-Dec 15 for plans to start January 1, but you could also enroll during special times such as 60 days within a loss of coverage or a move to another state.
If your income is below 100% FPL (gross income under $15,060 for 1 person or under $20,440 for 2 people for example) you would not qualify for a plan on healthcare.gov but that income would be eligible for TennCare; however, even if your income qualifies for TennCare you may not be eligible since the state’s requirements are more complicated than simply income qualifications.
You can NOT have TennCare and Marketplace at the same time, nor can you have Medicare and Marketplace simultaneously. You must cancel your Marketplace plan if you’re enrolled in other government insurance.
1*= DACA and people who have applied Asylum can now get healthcare.gov insurance as of Nov 1, 2024 and do not have to have income that is over 100% FPL.
2*= TennCare increased the income threshold for caregiver relatives, so if you were denied TennCare due to income in the past (as a caregiver of a minor) but income is also too low for Marketplace, you may possibly qualify for TennCare.
3*= Job insurance is “affordable” if the monthly premium is less than 9% of gross income, so you do not qualify for Marketplace tax credits if the job-offered plan premium is under 9% of your income.
Our services include:
- Assistance with enrolling for health insurance
- Referrals and scheduling to outside specialists
- Connections to social service programs such as food banks, public housing, public transportation, WIC
- Addressing barriers such as transportation, financial, translation and medication
