A federal judge has released Tennessee's Medicaid program from a 2014 injunction requiring TennCare to hold hearings for people whose applications aren't processed promptly.
Applicants sued the state soon after the rollout of the Affordable Care Act in October 2013. They claimed thousands were left in indefinite limbo because a new computer system designed to help process applications wasn't functional.
By law, applications for most forms of Medicaid should be processed within 45 days. Applications based on disability are allowed 90 days.
In a Wednesday ruling, U.S. District Judge William Campbell Jr. noted Tennessee's computer system is still not fully operational. But Campbell wrote that the state's has taken measures to prevent delays. Over 99 percent of applications are now processed within the required timeframe.
