Nashville News Blog

Our governor is the Chicken Little of the health care debate.

​Here's a novel idea: Maybe state governments should share a little of the cost of the expansion of Medicaid to help achieve universal health care coverage. What? During an appearance yesterday with Gov. Phil Bredesen, chief national whiner on this topic, Rep. Jim Cooper made this bizarre case:

"I worry if we make it completely free to the states, and the feds pay 100%, that would void the federal/state partnership. It would no longer be a partnership. It would be a federal program."

Bredesen, meanwhile, was running around the stage screaming about the sky falling. Remember the $735 million "best estimate" his administration previously has cited as the extra cost to the state? Well, now that figure has mushroomed to $3 billion. Oh no!

The $735 million would stretch over five years, but "in addition, there are huge unknowns for the states in this reform," Gov. Bredesen said, estimating that those costs, if realized, could exceed another $3 billion from 2014 to 2019.

The governor's comments, made during a health care forum at Belmont University, came hours before the U.S. Senate Finance Committee approved a $829 billion health care overhaul sponsored by Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont. The plan relies in part on state Medicaid programs such as TennCare to extend health insurance coverage to millions.

"I'm glad they're trying to do it without increasing the federal deficit, that certainly is important," said Gov. Bredesen, a Democrat who has been critical of the plan's impact on states. "But to turn around and increase the state deficits as the way to handle it that does not seem a very appropriate way to do that."

Or Tennessee could adopt a fair tax system that raises enough money to adequately fund the basic needs of its citizens. Oh wait, what am I thinking? It's much easier to complain about unfunded federal mandates.