Retired Tennessee state employees and teachers on the state’s Medicare supplement will pay between $154.49 and $204.49 a month in 2027, according to the state’s 2027 premium notice. That is $19.85 more than this year in every service tier. The plan, called The Tennessee Plan, also gets a new administrator on Jan. 1, 2027, when BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee takes over its claims.
What each service tier pays
The notice starts from a base premium of $204.49 a month, which it describes as the price before any state support is applied. The state then pays part of the premium for retired state employees and schoolteachers with 15 or more years of service, the state’s premium page says. The monthly premium falls as service rises:
- 30 or more years of service: $154.49, after $50.00 in state support
- 20 to 29 years: $166.99
- 15 to 19 years: $179.49
- Under 15 years: $204.49, with no state support
The amounts are per covered person. Retirees from local education support staff or local government jobs get the state support only if their governing body has authorized it, so their bill can be the full base amount.
How 2027 compares with 2026
The state’s 2026 notice put the base premium at $184.64 and the 30-year tier at $134.64. The 2027 tiers are all exactly $19.85 higher. That works out to about 10.8 percent more at the base rate and about 14.7 percent more for a retiree with 30 or more years, because the same dollar jump lands on a smaller bill. Over a full year, $19.85 a month adds up to $238.20 per covered person.
Premiums come out one month ahead. The January 2027 premium is taken from the Dec. 31, 2026 pension payment from the Tennessee Consolidated Retirement System, the notice says…