Gov. Bill HaslamNASHVILLE - Republican Gov. Bill Haslam says he has asked U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius to make a counterproposal to Tennessee's efforts to carve out a special deal for Medicaid expansion.
Haslam told reporters Monday that he had met with Sebelius twice during a Washington visit and that she was aware of the state's requests to use the federal money to subsidize private insurance and promote healthier lifestyles through a series of incentives.
The governor said he told Sebelius: "Why don't you come back to us with a proposal that you think will work?"
The Haslam administration has said expanding Medicaid under the federal health care law would cover about 180,000 uninsured Tennesseans.
Democrats have criticized the governor for not releasing specifics of his Medicaid proposal.