By Angela Hatton
Nashville, TN – Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen says a health care reform proposal in the U.S. Senate could cost the state more than 730 million dollars. Bredesen spoke to reporters Tuesday during a teleconference from New York where he met with all three national credit ratings agencies about the state's bonding rate. However, the governor ended up discussing the health care issue when a reporter asked how the proposed legislation would affect Tennessee. The 900-billion dollar, 10-year measure seeks to expand health insurance coverage, impose new taxes and fees, and make major changes to Medicare and Medicaid. Bredesen estimates the proposal would cost the state about 735 million dollars over roughly five years, with a "range of about 570 million at the low end to 1.2 billion at the upper end."