Governor Bill Haslam Announces Tennessee Will Not Expand Medicaid Rolls

Governor Bill Haslam announced this week to a Joint Session of the Tennessee General Assembly that he will not expand the state’s Medicaid rolls pursuant to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, commonly referred to as ObamaCare.

Instead, Haslam plans to independently pursue a “Tennessee Plan” for expanding healthcare coverage to those truly in need.

“I believe Tennessee can be a model for what true health care reform looks like; reform that will take significant steps to save the state and the nation from the unsustainable path we are now on,” Haslam said.

The central premise of the “Tennessee Plan”, which includes helping insure an additional 175,000 Tennesseans currently in need of health insurance, would save the state millions of dollars by allowing the Department of Human Services to buy policies for the uninsured from private insurers, rather than adding them to the state’s TennCare rolls.

Following the announcement, Republican lawmakers commended the Governor on his decision and praised Haslam for moving forward with a plan to ensure all Tennesseans have access to quality and affordable healthcare without being tied down by federal bureaucracy and mandates. They also praised the Governor for thoroughly researching the issue and approaching it in a thoughtful manner.

Haslam told lawmakers he had not received any assurances from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that the state could proceed with a “Tennessee Plan” under President Obama’s proposal and thus he would not be including the federal funding offered for expansion in his budget.