Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen Might Make Sense At HHS

There’s some pretty loud buzz about Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen being a contender to take Tom Daschle’s place in the administration. It’s not clear whether this would be at the Department of Health and Human Services (more likely) or the White House Office of Health Reform (less likely). Bredesen’s a Democrat, but not the kind you have to hold your nose around. Even his detractors would tell you that he’s brilliant, with a degree in physics from Harvard…and came to politics from having run private health-care companies VERY successfully.

When Tennessee had to decide what to do about it’s “cadillac” Tenncare program, the state’s answer to Medicare, Bredesen was not afraid to get out the knife. People used to MOVE to Tennessee just to get onto Tenncare. It had rampant, massive fraud. You couldn’t BUY a private insurance plan equal to it, no matter how much you were willing to pay. It was a behemoth, bottomless pit of an entitlement plan.

Bredesen had the guts to kick the fraudulent off and tighten up qualifications, benefits and oversight. He reined the monster in. Many on the Hill do not want him in the job, for these very reasons. He’s a Democrat, but one that’s run major, successful companies…and is innately a businessman with incredible knowledge about US healthcare. I’ve watched him for a long, long, time- he was Mayor of Nashville before he was Governor of Tennessee. And he would be light-years better than anyone remotely like Tom Daschle.

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