Ahead of his testimony before a Senate committee on bipartisan health reform early next month, Gov. Bill Haslam, R-Tenn., emphasized the role states should play in healthcare during a speech Thursday, according to the Times Free Press.
He believes states should receive Medicaid funding in block grants and decide how they want to spend their money to allow flexibility for local innovations.
"I think that states could actually manage this better," Mr. Haslam, said. "If you force states and tell them, 'This is what you have and you must cover these individuals and get these kind of outcomes,' then you will see a lot of creative problem solving."
Mr. Haslam also said ACA reforms only focused on coverage and not on healthcare costs, which he believes could have devastating economic consequences.
"If healthcare inflation keeps going as it is now, we're sunk as a nation," Mr. Haslam said. "When Medicare and TennCare take more of the government's budget, there is less left for anything else. The federal government is about to become a really large healthcare insurance company with an army attached to it."
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