Haslam hits the road to promote Insure Tennessee proposal

Republican Gov. Bill Haslam, second from left, attends a meeting at Jackson-Madison County General Hospital in Jackson, Tenn., about his proposal to extend health coverage to 200,000 low-income Tennesseans, on Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2015. It was the first of a series of discussions the governor plans to hold around the state before a Feb. 2 special session of the Legislature to take up the measure. (AP Photo/Erik Schelzig) Republican Gov. Bill Haslam, second from left, attends a meeting at Jackson-Madison County General Hospital in Jackson, Tenn., about his proposal to extend health coverage to 200,000 low-income Tennesseans, on Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2015. It was the first of a series of discussions the governor plans to hold around the state before a Feb. 2 special session of the Legislature to take up the measure. (AP Photo/Erik Schelzig)

By Associated Press January 21, 2015 3 min read

JACKSON, Tenn. (AP) – Gov. Bill Haslam on Wednesday kicked off a statewide tour to make the hard sell for his proposal to extend health coverage to more than 200,000 low-income Tennesseans.

Haslam opened the tour at Jackson-Madison County Memorial Hospital, where he sought to explain his Insure Tennessee proposal and assuage fellow Republicans wary of approving the program in a special legislative session next month because it would draw on federal money available under President Barack Obama’s health care law.

“This is not Obamacare,” Haslam told reporters after the event. “This is a different program that puts incentives in there for healthy behavior both on the user side and on the medical care provider side.

“And it won’t cost Tennessee taxpayers another dime,” he said.

Haslam headed to Memphis after the Jackson stop, and said he would make up to eight more stops around the state before the special session begins on Feb. 2.