NASHVILLE - Democrat Phil Bredesen is touting his health care record in both the private sector and Tennessee governor in a new U.S. Senate campaign ad, saying he wants to bring that experience to Washington and "help fix what's broken."
The 30-second television and digital spot, titled "Complicated," began running Tuesday.
It features Bredesen in jacket and tie in what appears to be a health care facility setting, speaking into the camera.
"Health care is important, but it's frustrating for many Tennesseans," Bredesen says. "Yes, it's complicated. But I have a track record."
He notes that prior to running for office, he was CEO of a health care company "that I started from scratch and grew to 6,000 employees.
"As governor, we saved TennCare and created affordable health insurance for small employers," Bredesen adds. "I want to bring that experience to the Senate, to help fix what's broken. That's why I'm applying for the job."
It's the latest effort by Bredesen, who faces Republican U.S. Rep. Marsha Blackburn in the Nov. 6 election, to portray himself as a problem solver in his effort to succeed retiring Republican U.S. Sen. Bob Corker of Chattanooga.
And it comes as President Donald Trump and his Republican congressional allies work to undo the federal Affordable Care Act. Blackburn opposes the law.
Much of Bredesen's private sector experience prior to becoming governor was in health care. He founded HealthAmerica Corp., a health managed care company that later grew to more than 6,000 employees and was listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
When Bredesen became governor in 2003, Tennessee government was facing a $500 million shortfall in TennCare, the state's expanded Medicaid program.
Saying the spending trajectory was unsustainable, Bredesen successfully urged lawmakers to enact major changes to the program that resulted in the highly controversial removal of an estimated 170,000 enrollees from the program as well as benefit changes.
In 2005, protesters conducted a lengthy sit-in at the governor's Capitol Hill office.
Bredesen used some of the resulting savings from TennCare cuts and disenrollments to boost funding for health clinics.
In 2006, he won legislative approval for a multi-pronged approach, called "Cover Tennessee," that among other things offered low-cost insurance plan for uninsured, low-income workers employed by small businesses. Employees, employers and the state each contributed a third of the monthly premium cost.