By Associated Press
Nashville, TN – Tennessee Senate Majority Leader Mark Norris is accusing Democrats of gamesmanship for their reluctance to quickly renew a hospital fee designed to avoid millions in TennCare cuts. Norris says Democrats are, in his words, "holding health care hostage" because they don't want to support the measure before evaluating the final version of the state's annual spending plan. Democratic Senate Minority Leader Jim Kyle calls Norris' characterization a "stretch." Kyle says if Democrats are going to be asked to vote on a tax, they should have some input on how the proceeds are spent. Republican Governor Bill Haslam's budget proposal assumes that lawmakers will adopt the more than $400 million in hospital fees.