Today, there’s a new beat coming out of Nashville, Tennessee (aka Music City, USA).  Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen has changed his tune and announced that on March 1 enrollment will resume for CoverKids, the state’s Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP).  The Governor had frozen enrollment in November but, after a loud public outcry, he decided to tap a state savings account for public health programs to re-open enrollment for uninsured children.

The news is music to the ears of the parents of the 145,000 uninsured children in Tennessee who may be eligible for coverage if they are unable to find private health insurance.  The Tennessee Justice Center and other advocates have been urging the Governor to re-open enrollment.  Michele Johnson at the Justice Center blogged about the enrollment freeze on Say Ahhh! last month and credits the blog with helping to focus attention on the issue which led to the Governor’s action to re-open CoverKids. 

In announcing the change in policy last night, the Governor was quoted as saying: “Fortunately, we’ve been able to dig deep and find additional funding to keep this option available to families in need.”

Let’s hope other Governors and state policymakers are paying attention and will “dig deep” before denying access to affordable coverage to children in need.