The Behavioral Health Safety Net (BHSN), operated through the Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (TDMHSAS), provides essential outpatient mental health services to uninsured adult Tennesseans and uninsured/underinsured Tennessee children who meet program eligibility criteria.  Essential services include assessment, evaluation, individual group and family therapy, diagnostic and therapeutic intervention, psychiatric medication management, labs related to medication management , peer support services, case management and pharmacy assistance and coordination and transportation for BHSN covered services. BHSN Providers serve eligible Tennesseans no matter which county they live in.

Eligibility Criteria

To qualify for the BHSN program, applicants must meet the following technical and financial eligibility requirements:

BHSN for Adults

• Be determined ineligible for TennCare or have completed a TennCare application; and
• Do not have private health insurance, or the private health insurance lacks mental health coverage, or all mental health benefits under the private health insurance have been exhausted for the year as determined by the Provider in consultation with the applicant; and
• Do not have behavioral health benefits through the Veteran’s Administration; and
• Be a US Citizen, or qualified alien (defined as a non-United States citizen residing in Tennessee who is a Permanent Resident of the United States, or asylee, or refugee, or a non-United States citizen residing in Tennessee on a conditional visa as defined by state and federal laws); and
• Be a resident of Tennessee, with no minimum timeframe required; and
• Be diagnosed with a qualifying primary mental health diagnosis (please refer to BHSN ICD-10 Eligibility Diagnosis Codes document in Appendix [update]); and
• Have a household income at or below 138% of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL); and • Be eighteen (18) years of age or older; and
• Not be in an in-patient facility, such as an inpatient psychiatric (sub-acute) hospital or nursing home; and BHSN Provider Manual 10
• Not be an inmate or not be incarcerated in any federal or state prison or local and county jails/detention centers.

BHSN for Children

• Be determined ineligible for TennCare or have completed a TennCare application; and
• Be a US Citizen, or qualified alien (defined as a non-United States citizen residing in Tennessee who is a Permanent Resident of the United States, or asylee, or refugee, or a non-United States citizen residing in Tennessee on a conditional visa as defined by state and federal laws); and
• Be a resident of Tennessee; with no minimum timeframe required; and BHSN Provider Manual 11
• Be diagnosed with a qualifying primary mental health diagnosis (please refer to BHSN ICD-10 Eligibility Diagnosis Codes document in [update]); and
• Be three (3) to seventeen (17) years of age; and
• Not be in an in-patient facility, such as an inpatient psychiatric (sub-acute) hospital or nursing home; and
• Not be in State legal custody.
• No income limit for children who meet eligibility criteria.
• Children with private/commercial insurance or CoverKids may be eligible for some BHSN services.

Pharmacy Assistance and Coordination

Pharmacy Assistance and Coordination provides BHSN enrollees with assistance in securing medications at a reduced price, or at no cost, through pharmaceutical manufacturer patient assistance programs, or Tennessee’s prescription drug program for Tennesseans with no pharmacy coverage called CoverRx. Pharmacy Assistance and Coordination also includes coordination with BHSN enrollees, prescribers, manufacturers, and Pharmacy Benefit Manager (currently OptumRX for CoverRx) for initial pharmacy assistance applications, emergency and periodic medication changes, and monitoring and submission of data necessary for monitoring and reporting.