PAYMENTS TOWARD LAWMAKER PREMIUMS
Lawmaker contribution / state contribution / time on plan (goes back to 2008) Sen. Todd Gardenhire, District 10 — $6,438.36 / $80,757.18 / Since 2012 Sen. Bo Watson, District 11 — $17,474.35 / $74,800.33 / Since 2008 Rep. Gerald McCormick, District 26 — $18,701.62 / $82,859.31 / Since 2008 Rep. Patsy Hazelwood, District 27 — $572.45 / $2,607.75 / Since 2014 Rep. JoAnne Favors, District 28 — $9,639.04 / $36,427.18 / Since 2008 Rep. Mike Carter, District 29 — $7,604.82 / $30,999.89 / Since 2012 Rep. Marc Gravitt, District 30 — Not on plan. Source: The Tennessean, records obtained from Tennessee State Benefits Administration.
In Tennessee, lawmaking is considered only a part-time job.
Most members of Hamilton County’s legislative delegation have other jobs, or are retired from jobs that give them access to health coverage.
Still, all but one lawmaker in the seven-member delegation has taken advantage of insurance benefits the state offers to full-time empoyees, choosing them over employer or retiree coverage, or opting to have both.
“I had it as a back-up in case I ever left Morgan-Stanley while in office. I just did not use it,” state Sen. Todd Gardenhire, R-Chattanooga, said of the insurance, which cost the state nearly $31,000 in premium cost-sharing over the last two years.