Tennessee Justice Center

The Tennessee Justice Center (TJC) is a non-profit, public interest law firm that serves low-income families across Tennessee. TJC was established in 1996 to represent approximately 1.3 million Tennessee low-income families through policy and class action advocacy after Congress deprived federally funded Legal Services programs of the ability to represent these families in this way. TJC gives priority to civil cases which affect health care and income security of poor families statewide.

Legal Successes

• Landmark consumer protections for TennCare patients when HMOs refuse care prescribed by their doctors,
• Rulings protecting the health coverage of 665,000 children enrolled in TennCare, including special protections for foster care children,
• A decision protecting the uninsured from unfair hospital pricing practices,
• A ruling that upheld the right of Medicare beneficiaries to enforce federal Medicare rules against health care companies,
• Recognition of the right of people with disabilities to sue the state to compel the development of home and community-based services as alternatives to institutionalization in nursing homes,
• Reinstatement of more than 100,000 individuals whose TennCare coverage had been wrongfully terminated,
• Protections against the arbitrary loss of health coverage for TennCare patients, with special accommodation during the eligibility process for people with disabilities or limited English proficiency.
• The importance of TJC’s cases and TJC’s reputation for excellence and integrity have attracted pro bono help from AARP Foundation Litigation, the Welfare Law Center in New York, the Southern Poverty Law Center, the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law, the National Health Law Program, the Nashville firm of Branham & Day, and private law firms in New York, Chicago and Atlanta.

See also

• Legal Services Corporation
• TennCare
  • Ned McWherter
  • Donald K. Sundquist
  • Phil Bredesen