March 7, 2005

Much Ado About Nothing

State records reviewed by the Chattanooga Times Free Press reveal that the Bredesen administration was actively working to thwart the "Tennessee Justice Center" in order to reform TennCare. The Tennessee news media is playing this up like it is some sort of bombshell. Aw, gimme a break. Of course Gov. Phil Bredesen's administration was working to counter-strategize against the TJC. After all, the TJC - that's the high-sounding name for what in reality is just a group of liberal lawyers who appointed themselves to make a living by suing the state over anything and everything involving TenneCare - is the enemy of TennCare reform.

What the story doesn't tell you is that if Bredesen really wanted to reform TennCare without the interference of the TJC he could do so - and do it before lunch today. He could merely issue an executive order canceling TennCare as of June 30, 2005, and another executive order implementing its replacement as of July 1, 2005. TennCare was created in 1994 by an executive order issued by then-Gov. Ned McWherter. It can be ended the same way. And the new state healthcare safety-net plan for the poor, the elderly and disabled would not be subject to any of the court orders and ill-considered consent decrees that now hamstring TennCare.

It has become increasingly apparent that either Bredesen doesn't have a real plan to reform the state's healthcare program, or lacks confidence in his reform plan and would prefer to continue to battle the TJC and blame the TJC when TennCare, unreformed, implodes.

UPDATE: Bruce Barry has some thoughts, and wonders if the story will be "the epitaph of Bredesen aspirations for national office." His commenters think the story helps Bredesen politically.