"Phil the Chill" Gets Clever With Healthcare

I wanted to commend Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen for introducing his "Cover Tennessee" health coverage plan Monday evening. Before getting into politics, Bredesen (who studied physics at Harvard, for what that's worth) made his fortune in the healthcare industry. So many (myself included) have been disappointed that the Governor's most significant accomplishment thus far in office has been to take nearly 200,000 people off of the Tenn Care rolls. (For outsiders, Tenn Care is/was the state's Medicaid-based health insurance program for uninsured and uninsurable citizens.)

Now the governor is proposing a series of healthcare initiatives—primarily for the working poor, employees of small businesses, children, and uninsurable adults—collectively called "Cover Tennessee." AccessTN would provide coverage for persons who have been turned down by other providers because of pre-existing conditions; CoverKids would be available to the 150,000 Tennessee children without health coverage; CoverRx would "provide access to affordable medication" to adults "with incomes under 250% of the federal poverty line"; and Project Diabetes would combat rising rates of diabetes and obesity in the state. According to The Tennessean, the costs of these programs would be divided between employers, enrollees, and the state. Persons who smoke or are substantially overweight would have to pay higher premiums than more health-conscious citizens.

I'm glad to see Phil getting creative with healthcare. Prior to his introducing Cover Tennessee, Bredesen's only real attempts at "reforming" Tenn Care have involved abruptly denying coverage to tens of thousands, including some of the most vulnerable Tennesseans. If Phil can get the General Assembly to bite, I might even vote for him this year. (Not that he needs my vote.) We'll see.