Five candidates for Tennessee governor offered a glimpse of their potential plans to address the state’s top health care issues during a forum in Nashville on Tuesday morning.
In barely an hour and 15 minutes, the candidates answered more than 20 questions on topics ranging from how to tackle the state’s high rates of chronic diseases and the opioid crisis to Medicaid reform and even their personal strategies for staying healthy.
Concerns over health care costs reigned, which makes sense – a third of the state’s budget goes toward health care, yet Tennessee notoriously ranks as one of the least-healthy states.
Tasty politics
The candidates were asked a light question about their food preferences. Here are their answers: What’s your favorite vegetable, and your unhealthy weakness? › Randy Boyd: broccoli; nachos w/ jalapenos› Karl Dean: lettuce; french fries/pizza› Craig Fitzhugh: carrots; hamburgers › Beth Harwell: arugula; pizza› Bill Lee: carrots, beet, kale juice; banana MoonPies
“We simply cannot afford the health we have, so the obvious answer is that we have to invest more in our health,” said Republican Randy Boyd, former state commissioner of economic and community development, who was quick to note investing more doesn’t necessarily mean more government spending.