Lawmakers ask for legislative session on TennCare

The Democratic lawmakers sent a letter Friday to Bredesen and to the speakers of the House and the Senate, saying those losing health insurance through TennCare deserve one last opportunity to appeal to the Legislature.

Lawmakers could use the special session to raise money to keep more people on the program or figure out a better way to provide a safety net for the disenrolled, said state Sen. Doug Jackson, D-Dickson, one of the letter’s authors.

The other lawmakers involved in the request are Rep. David Shepard, D-Dickson and Rep. John Tidwell, D-New Johnsonville.

Bredesen hasn’t read the letter, but his spokeswoman, Lydia Lenker, said he is only considering a special session to strengthen ethics laws.

Jackson said lawmakers could tackle both ethics and TennCare in a special session.

Some 190,000 TennCare enrollees are in the process of losing access to the state insurance program for the poor, elderly and disabled, while those left on the program face limits on medical services and medications.

“It is our belief that additional review may reveal other reasonable approaches to retain enrollees who are most in need and to develop a more comprehensive safety net,” the letter states.