Looks like Phil Bredesen took the occasion of Tennessee's state of the state speech to put in a plug for his acceptability as Secretary of HHS and public face of health reform. "One immediate concern is health care," he said. "When people lose their jobs, they often lose their health insurance as well. We know that additional people will qualify for TennCare, and we are planning for that in the budget. We have opened CoverTN up to those who have lost their jobs, and trust that this will help some as well." "These avenues of help are well-meaning but still patchwork, and this recession has truly underlined for me something that I’ve believed for a long time: that we need a national solution for health insurance. Our health care system has become antiquated and unfair, and I deeply hope that a new President and a new Congress can fashion the solution that Tennessee and America deserve." Emphasis mine. The devil is in the details, of course, but the statement of support is encouraging. He'd still be a troubling pick as Secretary of HHS, but if his commitment to the issue is genuine, he could certainly be of great use during the health care reform process. He'd be good, in particular, at talking with conservative Democrats and selling reform to the business community.
