Todd Gardenhire makes a point in this file photo.Sen. Todd Gardenhire, R-Chattanooga, benefited from the Affordable Care Act by having his adult son enrolled on state benefits, but voted twice to keep Tennessee from using the federal health law to provide health coverage to poor people.
The law mandates that all employer-based plans allow workers to add coverage for their children up to age 26. Gardenhire adamantly disputed state documents obtained by The Tennessean newspaper that showed he had a child on the plan and hung up on a reporter Monday morning, but then called back to "eat crow," apologize and say that his son, Andrew, had been covered.
Gardenhire touched off the controversy about lawmaker benefits in February by denying he had coverage on the state plan in an exchange with Sen. Jeff Yarbro, D-Nashville. The exchange led to The Tennessean requesting records detailing how many lawmakers receive state health insurance and the cost to taxpayers.
Read more from our news partners at The Tennessean.