Medicaid plans › Tennessee
Tennessee Medicaid Managed-Care Plans for Providers
Enrollments are billed 50% at the start and 50% at submission; everything else 100% at the start.
TennCare is run by the Division of TennCare. 1,436,313 people were enrolled in its 3 managed-care plans in 2024. To see their patients, a provider enrolls with TennCare through the TennCare Provider Registration portal, then applies to each plan separately.
| Plan | Members (2024) | Share | Parent |
|---|---|---|---|
| Volunteer State Health Plan (BlueCare and TennCare Select) | 577,577 | 40.2% | In-state |
| UnitedHealthcare Community Plan | 429,505 | 29.9% | UnitedHealth Group |
| Wellpoint | 429,231 | 29.9% | Elevance Health |
How Joining Works in Tennessee
First the state: TennCare enrollment through the TennCare Provider Registration portal, which gives you the Medicaid ID every plan asks for. Then the plans: each takes its own participation request and credentials you from your CAQH ProView (DataSpring) profile. 2 parent companies run plans here, and plans owned by the same company still contract state by state.
How to Join Each Tennessee Plan
UnitedHealthcare Community Plan (UnitedHealth Group): UnitedHealthcare Community Plans use UnitedHealthcare's provider onboarding: a participation request on the UnitedHealthcare provider site, credentialing from your CAQH ProView (DataSpring) profile, then a state-specific Community Plan agreement.
Wellpoint (Elevance Health): Elevance Health plans take participation requests through the plan's provider site for that state, most of them now inside Availity Essentials, and credential from your CAQH ProView (DataSpring) profile. Each state is its own contract.
Volunteer State Health Plan (BlueCare and TennCare Select): This plan is run in-state rather than by a national carrier, so participation requests go to the plan's own provider relations or contracting team, listed on its provider website.
Also in Tennessee: Medicare, TennCare and commercial credentialing.
Questions
Which Tennessee Medicaid plan is the largest?
Volunteer State Health Plan (BlueCare and TennCare Select), with 577,577 members in 2024, 40.2% of the 1,436,313 people enrolled in Tennessee's Medicaid managed-care plans.
Do I have to join every Tennessee Medicaid plan?
No. Each plan is a separate contract. Practices usually start with the two or three largest plans in their county, then add others as patients ask for them. All of them require TennCare enrollment first.
Membership from KFF, Medicaid MCO Enrollment by Plan and Parent Firm, 2024. Plans change when the state rebids its contracts; we confirm the current list on every file.