It is a political gamble, but the impact is blunted by the fact that folks who make their voting decision on government handouts are not likely to vote Republican. The impact will mostly be in them staying home and not voting at all.

People should remember that it is the republican party that stands in the way of citizens of TN having Universal Health care. It is the Democrats who care about social programs such as TN Care.

So this makes using the problems facing TNCare for political purposes downright evil on the part of republicans.

Bredesen must make decisions regarding TnCare based upon the TN budget. Tn is in a crisis budget wise and decisions must be made about what to cut. Everything has been cut to the bone in TN and there is nothing left to cut but TnCare.

If people are upset and angry about the priorities of government where all our tax money is going to the middle east and to the Pentagon while social programs for the people are cut then the best things citizens could do is vote republicans out of office and send the message that we don't like it that our government has gone so far to the right.

Republicans ought not to call programs such as TNCare SOCIALISM and attempt to destroy them and then when republicans increase the size of the Federal Government and spend us into bankruptcy so that TnCare is destroyed they certainly ought not to blame Democrats.

If Bredesen is responsible for ending TnCare that should mean that REPUBLICANS WILL VOTE FOR HIM IN DROVES, is that your intention Mr Hobbs?

Yeula, not all Republicans want to end TennCare. You tend to overgeneralize. There is plenty of support within the GOP rank-and-file for a state healthcare plan for the indigent and uninsurable, and we'd be glad for Bredesen to reform TennCare instead of just dump 323,000 sick, old and poor people off the program.

I, for one, have been urging the governor to consult with South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford about Gov. Sandford's Medicaid reform plans, which are designed not to end Medicaid in that state, but to make it work better and more cost-effectively.

The federal government, controlled by Republicans, is attempting to slash Medicare funding at the federal level.

Already extremely tight state budgets are left with trying to deal with the burden of providing health insurance for low income and elderly individuals. If a state doesn't have the money, it either has to raise taxes or cut benefits.

In the case of your governor, it would appear cutting benefits is the lesser of the two evils.

Would you prefer he raise taxes?

True market-based reforms could reduce costs while keeping more people covered. As could introducing better waste and fraud controls, eligibility screening, prescription drug generics and caps, and more.

Bredesen promised to reform TennCare, but instead he's just slashing people from the rolls.

Oh, and spending on it will still go up.

Basing health care upon the markets is the problem here. Its not the responsibility of government to make certain that HMOs and insurance companies, Bill Frist's family's Columbia or any other private business make money. It is the government's role to make certain that low income workers and the sick and old get adequate health care.

It is immoral, unethical, ungodly, unChristian, unpatroitic, unamerican and unpopular to provide healthcare based upon someone's ability or lack of ability to pay.

Most of the people who live below the poverty line and who cannot afford health care are WORKING people. These people contribute to the general welfare of the country and to the economy they and are doing their fair share.

Why should people who work at the Post Office or at TVA or other government jobs get health care and retirement benefits but other workers are not entitled? Everyone should be entitled to health care.

The reason non-government workers don't get health benefits is because those things would drastically cut into business profits. Businesses exist to make money but when you have a company such as WalMart telling its workers how to sign up for welfare then you know you have a problem. We should regulate businesses and demand they do their fair share because the government cannot afford to pick up the tab for Walmart and it should provide health care for its own employees and that would solve the problems of tncare. WalMart should not be getting public assistance.

When business can make money off the government they are all for government involvement but when government attempts to manage and regulate a situation and force business to do the right thing then suddenly business doesn't like "big government". But Big government seems to be ok when it can pay the health industry big bucks. Lets get big business off our backs.

Bush and the neo-cons have created a big government so they can use the taxpayer to make a finanical investment in the middle east and private business can reap the profits. NO WONDER WE CAN'T PROVIDE HEALTH CARE FOR OUR PEOPLE!

We should have caps on what hospitals and pharmacuietcals can charge because the market shouldn't be allowed to charge whatever it wants just because there is a load of money to be made off the government.

As long as there is money to be made republicans don't want ethics, morals or to provide the needy and old with health care. They don't care if people lack quality health care the only thing that matters to republicans is that they get every health care penney they can from government. That is why Bill Frist went to Congress. He had never even registered to vote in his life and when Bill and Hillary started talking about health care reform he went to DC to look out for his family's financial interests, not the public's health.

No doubt republicans will play politics with Bredesen and TnCare and if they can parlay it into getting a republican governor they will quickly forget TnCare and privatize everything to maximise profits for business.

We know what republicans will do because we know their history and what they have done in the past. They refer to programs such as TnCare as SOCIALISM. Remember? They are at this moment attempting to destroy Social Security and turn it over to Wall Street with taxpayers picking up the trillion dollar cost. Republicans are allowing SS to "wilt on the vine" just as newt gingrich said they should and medicare is slowly sinking.

This commontion about Bredesen and TNCare is purely political and designed to help republicans - it should not be confused with actual concern over whether or not some poor person gets the health care they need.

Yeula, yet another long post most of which had little to do with the topic of my blog entry. Please stop doing that. Please stick to the specific topic I wrote about. Thanks.

Everyone should be entitled to health care.

Let me guess, yeula. Everyone should also be entitled to housing. And a job, at a certain living wage, of course. You do believe that, don't you?

And you've already stated how it's wrong for companies to make a profit delivering things people need. I'd be willing to bet you think companies should only make a tiny profit at best (probably determined by government) and that making a big profit means they are doing something unfair to somebody. Correct?

If these things are not your position, let's hear where you disagree. Otherwise, whining about Republicans labeling people as "socialist" is just a defense mechanism to try to keep them from stating the obvious - you are a socialist.

Um. Which is more important to life - food or healthcare?

Food. You can go months without healthcare, years even, but you can't go more than a few weeks without food.

Yet food - the single most precious product for living - is delivered via a system based on market forces, while healthcare is delivered via a highly government-regulated and government-manipulated system.

We have some 44 million Americans without healthcare insurance, but we don't have 44 million Americans without food.

Perhaps we should learn a lesson from this. Perhaps that lesson is, a market system delivers a life-vital product/service better than a system beset by too much government intervention.

Mr Hobbs I suppose you have never heard of food stamps. The government does not allow people to go hungry and we shouldn't allow people to go without health care either.

What kind of 'Christian' and I use the term loosely, would think that a person should go without food or healthcare if they happen to work at WalMart and can't afford the high cost of living today? What sort of person would allow an old veteran or a granny to go without food, housing or medical care just because they couldn't last in a society based upon survival of the fittest? I ask you what kind of person!

You people on the right are thrilled to have government involvement if its industry the government is helping. The Taxpayer has bailed out auto companies, airlines, we've picked up the tab for failing savings and loan companies and we will be forced to pick up the tab when privatized SS accounts end up in the hands of Wall Street crooks and grannies are left pennyless.

I'll bet you've never heard of government subsidies on dairy products or large agri-business allowing cattle to graze on public land or the government building roads into our public forests so the timber industry can plunder our public lands or tax initiatives given to industry in order to attrack business or infrasturcture being built and paid for by the taxpayer for Walmart.

I suppose that Mr Hollis has never heard of government subsidies for business. You both seem to think that all welfare goes to poor people but thats because you both lack imagination.

Bush is asking for another 80 billion to rebuild Iraq. Who is pocketing the money from Iraq's oil? We taxpayers make the investment and multi-national, multi-billionarie companies reap the profit.

What kind of people support government money for billionaires but begrudge the poorest among us the basic necessities of life. I'll tell you who. Republicans.

FYI Socialism is a form of government where government owns all business and there is no private ownership.

I will speak slowly so you can understand. When Walmart doesn't pay a livable wage to the workers who make their wealth possible and the Waltons are among Forbe's richest, IT IS WALMART WHO GETS THE WELFARE WHEN THE GOVERNMENT HAS TO PAY FOR ITS EMPLOYEES HEALTH CARE, HOUSING, OR FOOD STAMPS.

I guess you two think that workers don't deserve fair compensation for their labor. I suppose you think people should live in caves or rat holes if they can't afford the high cost of housing.

Walmart pays about 6 or 7 dollars and hour and won't allow workers to work 40 hr weeks. How much does a one bedroom apartment rent for these days? you do the math. Where is your christian decency?

Health care for ALL. All workers contribute to the general welfare of the US and its economy. This nation should not base every governmental decision upon the forces of the market when it comes to the needs of its citizens because we never "let the market work" if some corporation needs help. You are both bleeding hearts. Weeping for billionaires.

yuela - "I suppose that Mr Hollis has never heard of government subsidies for business."

Not only have I heard of them, but I've been opposed to them all my adult life. Try again.

Last point - just because you deeply and passionately wish something were true does not mean it is true. Most folks think it would be nice if government could ensure an excellent level of healthcare for all citizens without bankrupting society. Unfortunately, reality teaches us (via Canada, TennCare, federal Medicare, and many other examples) that such a system cannot exist in reality. It inevitably descends into poor quality, or the cost grows out of control, or both. (If you understood basic economics, you would be a lot more likely to understand this. I suggest the book Basic Economics by Thomas Sowell as an introduction.)

mr bredesen health care compay was awared a 45 million dollor contract when this company was charged with over chargeing the tax payers its time to hold him accountable to the sick and eldery that need medical attion at once and it is time to stop palying games with other peoples lifes his medical was not droped and his campine was base on resolveing our health care proublems by desolveing ten care is a low down dirty deal for the voters who belived is him and his elected officals it is time to fight come to nashville and make your voice count he has putt 300 million in a rainey day fund well its raining and spend the money lets buy the druggs we need as a state from candia company and if the federal goverment dose not like that it is a states right to take care of our people butt our govener is a traderd gulty of treasion by denying his fellow citzens HEALTH CARE FOR ALL RICH AND POOR!!!!