NASHVILLE - Gov. Bill Haslam on Saturday released the proposed resolutions he will present on Monday in a special session of the General Assembly where he will seek approval for his plan to use federal Medicaid dollars to extend health insurance coverage to an estimated 280,000 low-income Tennesseans.
House Joint Resolution 7001 and Senate Joint Resolution 7001 set out Haslam's political argument that his proposal differs from a standard Medicaid expansion under President Barack Obama's 2010 health care law and seek approval by lawmakers to proceed.
The resolutions employ many of the same arguments the governor has publicly made in trying to build support for passage among his fellow Republicans in the GOP-dominated legislature.
The resolution refers to the federal Affordable Care Act "as the wrong approach to responding to the challenges of our healthcare system."
And it says his own plan, for which he has received verbal approval from federal officials, "goes further than just providing coverage to low-income Tennesseans by also preparing these citizens for a transition to private market coverage by promoting participant engagement and personal responsibility and incentivizing appropriate use of the healthcare system, which distinguishes Insure Tennessee from Medicaid expansion."
The resolution vows that the plan "will not create any new taxes for Tennesseans or add any state cost to the budget, which is essential to the General Assembly's authorization of Insure Tennessee."
The federal govermment will fully fund the program through 2016, with the state slowing picking up 10 percent of the costs by 2020. Tennessee hospitals have pledged to bankroll the state's share.
House Majority Leader Gerald McCormick, R-Chattanooga, and Sen. Doug Overbey, R-Maryville, are sponsors of the respective resolutions.