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| Senate passes Cover TN, shoots down malpractice addition | |||
| By John Rodgers, jrodgers@... May 17, 2006 | |||
| Posted: May 17, 12:57 p.m. CDT The state Senate almost unanimously passed Gov. Phil Bredesen’s Cover Tennessee initiative today after shooting down a Republican-backed move to add medical tort reform to the measure. The Senate voted 31-1 to approve Cover Tennessee, an umbrella health plan with its main component designed to provide health insurance for the working poor. “Ain’t it great,” said Finance Commissioner Dave Goetz after the vote. Goetz has been the Bredesen administration’s point-man on the initiative. The final vote on the bill came shortly after the Senate denied Sen. Jim Bryson’s (R-Franklin) move to add medical malpractice reform to the Cover Tennessee bill. The Senate voted 16-13 against the medical tort reform amendment, with three Senators abstaining. After the vote, Sen. Randy McNally (R-Oak Ridge), the chairman of the Senate Republican Caucus, called an impromptu meeting of Senate Republicans. McNally appeared angry that some Republican senators had not made their position clear to him. “I had thought that the caucus was in position to do what was right,” McNally said during the meeting. “But evidently not.” Two Republican senators, Mike Williams (R-Maynardville) and Curtis Person (R-Memphis), voted against it, but those were likely less of a surprise stance than the three Republican senators who abstained from voting. Those Senators abstaining were Mae Beavers (R-Mt. Juliet), Rusty Crowe (R-Johnson City) and Steve Southerland (R-Morristown). Crowe said he did tell McNally his position before the vote was taken. Southerland said he did not tell the Republican Caucus of his position, but maintained that McNally wasn’t angry with him. “I think he was more concerned about the ones that voted no,” Southerland said. The House may consider the Cover Tennessee bill this afternoon. |
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