TBA Law Blog


Posted by: Brittany Sims on Jan 5, 2015

In less than a month, Gov. Bill Haslam embarks on possibly the biggest political challenge of his career: trying to pass "Insure Tennessee," his plan to use federal Medicaid expansion dollars to create new health programs for an estimated 200,000 lower-income Tennesseans. Haslam said his plan is not traditional Medicaid expansions, but emphasizes personal responsibility, requiring Tennessee residents newly eligible for some publicly financed health coverage to take an active role in making better health care decisions. Not all Republicans are behind the plan, however. Republicans have the numbers to get any bill passed without any Democrats supporting it, but if there are enough Republicans opposed to any plan, Democratic support in the House will be key, the Tennessean reports.