NASHVILLE -- Tea Party activists booed and some yelled "liar" Wednesday at a Chattanooga lawmaker who criticized legislation saying Tennesseans can disregard health insurance mandates in the new federal health care law.
The hoopla came as an overflow crowd in a legislative corridor watched on a television monitor as Rep. JoAnne Favors, D-Chattanooga, took issue with assertions made by Rep. Susan Lynn, R-Mount Juliet, a sponsor of two of the three measures.
All three measures were approved by the House Industrial Impact Subcommittee.
More than 100 activists showed up, packed the hearing room and spilled into the legislative corridor.
A registered nurse and former health care administrator, Rep. Favors noted Tennessee has "some of the poorest chronically ill citizens in the country."
Rep. Favors asked Rep. Lynn what she knew about TennCare, a version of Medicaid created in 1994 to expand coverage to groups beyond traditional enrollees such as low-income pregnant mothers and their children. She noted the state has disenrolled about 100,000 people from the program over the past two years.
In response to one Favors question about why health care prices are soaring, Rep. Lynn said that although there are a variety of reasons, "largely the Medicare and Medicaid programs have really distorted the health care market and caused prices to escalate tremendously."
Rep. Lynn also blamed "overconsumption of health care" and noted "insurance has moved from being where you buy it and you hope you never have to use it to really being a health maintenance program and not true insurance."
Rep. Favors interjected, saying, "excuse me, health care consumption has increased because we as a civilized nation have been involved in public health. We've worked very diligently to encourage people to do more preventative health."
Boos from the hallway grew louder and some shouts of "liar" and "lies" began as Rep. Favors cited a resolution last June "recognizing the health care cost crisis of this nation." House Resolution 213 also states the House "strong supports health care reform."
Rep. Favors said, "being a health care professional, I cannot understand how any legislator can come here and having been exposed to all of the information we have been exposed to about the citizens in this state to not be supportive of the citizens having access to health care.
"If it is a requirement, then so be it," Rep. Favors said. "And that should not be something that people are all riled up (about). Nobody's going to lose their rights."
Subcommittee Chairman Charles Curtiss, D-Sparta, at one point admonished the audience in the hearing room to maintain decorum but said there was not much he could do about activists in the hallway.
The panel earlier approved one measure, the Tennessee Health Care Freedom Act by Rep. Mike Bell, R-Riceville. The measure, HB3433, says state residents can disregard health insurance mandates in the federal law recently approved by Congress. It also seeks to direct the state attorney general to go to court to defend Tennesseans who refuse to buy health insurance.
The Senate version of Rep. Bell's bill, sponsored by Sen. Mae Beavers, R-Mount Juliet, already has passed.
Rep. Lynn faces Sen. Beavers in a Senate GOP primary. She presented her own Tennessee Health Care Freedom Act, which resembles the Bell/Beavers legislation. Some lawmakers questioned whether to proceed on Rep. Lynn's bill, but Rep. Curtiss said the committee should move forward and let the sponsors "work it out."
Rep. Lynn then presented House Joint Resolution 745, which prompted Rep. Favors' questions. It is the same as the two bills. But it seeks to put the language into the Tennessee Constitution.
Another Lynn resolution, HJR 722, would amend the state constitution with another provision that would "establish a free enterprise system in Tennessee."
Among activists cheering approval of the measures was Andie Bowman, a Hamilton County businesswoman, who said, "it's great to see it pass, and it gives us a lot of hope. I'm very proud of Tennessee right now. ... This will hopefully protect Tennessee."
Ms. Bowman, who was not among those calling Rep. Favors a liar, said she did think some of the things Rep. Favors said with regard to TennCare "were not particularly relevant" to the discussion.
In a later interview, Rep. Favors said she had no issue with the Tea Party activists' activities.
"That's what makes our society a great society, because we can protest," she said.
Rep. Favors said her own passion in favor of the federal law stems from the calls of frightened Tennesseans, many of whom have been disenrolled from TennCare and face medical crises. She said she has received calls seeking help not just from Chattanooga but from areas such as Warren County.
"All they know is that I'm a nurse," she said.