Bredesen Releases New TV/Digital Spot on Health Care

NASHVILLE, Tennessee, Sept. 4 -- Tennessee ex-Gov. Phil Bredesen, the Democratic nominee for the Senate, issued the following campaign news release:

Bredesen For Senate today released a new TV and digital spot focusing on one of the most important issues facing Tennessee and America -- health care.

In the 30-second spot, Phil Bredesen makes the case to Tennessee voters that he has the experience needed to lead a meaningful policy conversation in the U.S. Senate.

Bredesen says: "Health care is important, but it's frustrating for many Tennesseans. Yes, it's complicated. But I have a track record. Before running for office, I was the CEO of a health care company that I started from scratch and grew to 6,000 employees. As governor, we saved TennCare and created affordable health insurance for small employers. I want to bring that experience to the Senate, to help fix what's broken. That's why I'm applying for the job."

Background:

* Doing research at the Nashville Public Library, Bredesen drafted a business plan that led to the creation of HealthAmerica Corp., a health-care management company that eventually grew to more than 6,000 employees and was traded on the New York Stock Exchange.

* When Bredesen became Governor, the state was facing a current-year shortfall of half a billion dollars largely attributed to TennCare, the state's expanded Medicaid program. Working on a bipartisan basis with the legislature, he implemented cost-savings measures to stabilize the multi-billion-dollar program. [Source: Staff. (2003). Breakdown of two state budget problems. The Tennessean. Retrieved from LexisNexis]

* In spring 2006, Governor Bredesen proposed and the General Assembly approved

"Cover Tennessee," a new initiative to provide affordable health insurance to working Tennesseans. The program included plans to provide health insurance to uninsured children in low-income families as well as chronically ill adults who couldn't get coverage due to pre-existing medical conditions.

* Since April, Governor Bredesen has hosted eight healthcare roundtables and brown bag lunches, listening to Tennesseans who don't feel heard. Hosted in Sumner, Rutherford, Williamson, Knox, Wilson, Tipton, Bedford, and Blount counties, attendees have spoken about healthcare access and affordability, the surging cost of prescription drugs, problems with the Affordable Care Act, and the opioid epidemic.