TennCare reform delay could prove costly to state

A six month delay in reforming TennCare could cost the state nearly half of the $575 million officials have said they expect to save and balance next year's budget.

That's according to an affidavit filed with a federal appeals court last week. The filing came after a judge in Nashville ruled the state cannot implement the planned reforms to the government-subsidized health care program without his approval.

The judge said hearings will be set for March to work through that issue. In the meantime, state lawyers told the judge on Friday that they will ask that Nashville attorney George Barrett represent TennCare enrollees instead of Gordon Bonnyman.

Bonnyman is the executive director of the Tennessee Justice Center, which represents the 1.3 million people on TennCare. Bonnyman has clashed repeatedly with Bredesen over his plans to curtail the program's ballooning costs.

The governor has long blamed court challenges for getting in the way of his plans for reforming TennCare.