COVER TENNESSEE
Governor Bredesen developed Cover Tennessee to provide health insurance options to uninsured individuals in Tennessee. Cover Tennessee's health insurance options are affordable and portable, and include the following programs:

CoverKids
CoverKids offers comprehensive health coverage to uninsured children in Tennessee, age 18 and under, and pregnant women. Effective December 1, 2009, new enrollment in CoverKids is suspended until further notice. Current members will remain enrolled in the program and will not be affected by the change, providing they continue to meet eligibility requirements. For details about the change and frequently asked questions, visit the CoverKids Web site or call 1-866-620-8864.

CoverTN
CoverTN provides affordable basic health coverage for employees of Tennessee's small businesses. Effective December 1, 2009, new enrollment in CoverTN is suspended until further notice as a result of reaching budget capacity. Current members and participating businesses, as well as those who have been approved for coverage effective for later dates in 2010, will be unaffected by the suspension. Visit the CoverTN Web site for more information.

AccessTN
AccessTN provides a comprehensive health insurance plan for seriously ill adults who have been turned down by insurance companies. Visit the AccessTN Web site for more information.

CoverRx
CoverRx offers affordable medication to low income, uninsured Tennesseans. Visit the CoverRx Web site for more information.

Program applications and more information are also available by calling 1-866-COVERTN or by visiting the Cover Tennessee Web site at CoverTN.gov.


TENNCARE
Governor Bredesen believes the unchecked growth of TennCare, the most expansive public health insurance program in the country, is the clear and present danger to the State’s fiscal stability.

Following a full year of study, the Governor in 2004 proposed a comprehensive TennCare reform strategy designed to preserve full enrollment by placing reasonable limits on benefits. The plan won broad support from legislators, providers and enrollees, but public-interest lawyers thwarted it by refusing to lift legal roadblocks to reform.

As a result, the State in 2005 instead moved ahead with an alternate strategy to reduce benefits and enrollment for some adults while preserving full coverage for children. Even after reductions in adult enrollment to maintain fiscal balance, TennCare remains one of the most generous and comprehensive state healthcare plans. Moving forward, the State is pursuing a range of additional cost-containment strategies, including:

	Requiring managed-care organizations (MCOs) to assume more financial risk in the delivery of TennCare benefits. The MCOs, more commonly known as HMOs, were relieved of financial risk in 2002 in an effort to stabilize the healthcare program. Restoring risk is critical to managing TennCare.
	Increasing efforts to stamp out fraud and abuse. In 2004, Governor Bredesen launched the TennCare Office of Inspector General to investigate civil and criminal fraud and abuse within the program. Since then, the State has opened investigations and brought charges against scores of individuals and organizations attempting to defraud taxpayers.
	Working through the courts to challenge legal constraints. "Consent decrees" placed on the program by public-interest lawyers beginning in the 1990's obligate the State to provide benefits well beyond federal requirements and, among other things, prevent the State from placing reasonable limits on the use of prescription drugs.
	Developing new care- and disease-management practices and making better use of health information technology (HIT). For example, the Governor’s Volunteer eHealth Initiative is one of five federally funded HIT demonstration projects designed to lay out a national blueprint for improving the quality of health care while reducing costs in the healthcare system.