Tennessee Rejects Expansion

A while back we told you that Medicaid expansion was in jeopardy in Tennessee due to GOP opposition. It’s been rejected and now 200,000 will go without coverage.

To make a long story short read our Medicaid Expansion in Tennessee story to find out why it was so important, and how the troubled history of TennCare and the refusal to implement a state-income tax go hand-in-hand with rejecting coverage for hundreds of thousands of working adults.

Tennessee was widely seen as the next Republican state that could expand Medicaid under Obamacare, with Haslam negotiating with federal officials for months on an approach that included conservative policy elements. But Insure Tennessee always faced significant obstacles in getting legislative approval, and it was killed even though hospitals had agreed to cover the state’s share of the costs.

The 7-4 vote against the plan by the state Senate Health and Welfare Committee came after impassioned testimony on both sides of the debate. The plan has little chance of being revived during the regular legislative session.

Read more about the rejection at Politico.