A Nashville judge has ruled the state was wrong to refuse to pay for special foods for two young TennCare patients with a rare genetic disorder.
State officials fought the decision, fearing it could lead to a flood of requests from people who want TennCare to cover food for medical diets.
Chancellor Carol McCoy ruled Wednesday in favor of two Coffee County children.
The children have phenylketonuria, an incurable disease that can cause permanent mental retardation if patients don’t eat specially modified food.
McCoy found that PKU is different from other medical conditions because patients can’t consume ordinary food or modify their diets with everyday products. She said the state failed to take into account the serious harm to the children if they don’t eat the special diet.