News and Music Discovery
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

TN Senate Leader Calls to Opt Out of Healthcare Bill

By Angela Hatton

Nashville, TN – Tennessee Republican Senate speaker and gubernatorial candidate Ron Ramsey wants the state attorney general to look into whether Tennessee can opt out of the program. Ramsey says he's calling for the investigation because of a deal struck in Congress. Ramsey tells the Associated Press that he considers concessions won by conservative Democratic U.S. Senator Ben Nelson of Nebraska to be unconstitutional. Among other things, Nelson won an agreement that the federal government will pay to expand Medicaid services in his state. The House version of the health care legislation is estimated to cost Tennessee taxpayers up to 1-point-4 million dollars over a five-year stretch beginning in 2014. The Senate version is projected to cost about half that.