Lawmakers returned to the state Capitol on Tuesday but just minutes into the 100th General Assembly, Republicans and Democrats were already sparing over healthcare.
At issue for Democrats are the nearly 300,000 Tennesseans who are currently stuck "in the gap," and are left without insurance. State lawmakers have refused in recent years to expand Medicaid, leaving millions of dollars in federal funds on the table. Democrats have long supported Governor Bill Haslam's now failed Insure Tennessee proposal and are hoping that with Haslam leaving office at the end of the year, they may have an unlikely ally.
"Our governor proposed Insure Tennessee and for political reason it didn't go very far, but those political reasons are gone now," House Minority leader Craig Fitzhugh said on the floor Tuesday.
Fitzhugh, who is running for governor, was quickly met with resistance from his Republican colleagues.
"I miss this, I miss the gubernatorial speech you gave, it is greatly appreciated. If I were a Democrat I would vote for you but I'm not," House Majority leader Glen Casada said jokingly, drawing a number of laughs from the chamber.
Republicans currently hold a super-majority at the Capitol and are not likely to enact any kind of sweeping healthcare legislation this session, largely because there is still uncertainty in Washington D.C. surrounding the future of the Affordable Care Act."We don’t know what the federal government will do, we don’t know if the Affordable Care Act will be in existence so it’s premature to do anything," House Speaker Beth Harwell said.
