Political advance of state Rep. Odom could be good news for state's most vulnerable citizens

It is difficult amid the indefinable politics in the state of Tennessee to find an elected official to count on when it comes to the most vulnerable among us.

But if action earlier this month and an analysis last week by the City Paper's John Rodgers are any indication, state Rep. Gary Odom may be one of the few lawmakers standing who is of distinction to carry this weighty banner. He is far from a perfect lawmaker, and I've criticized him sharply in the past for his dedication to the Naifeh Machine.

Rep. Odom, however, broke up an attempt on the board of AccessTN to put a cap on the program's enrollment. It provides coverage to uninsurable people in Tennessee. Some of these enrollees have lost their workplace health insurance when their small business employers decide they can no longer afford to provide coverage and stay operating.

All have pre-existing conditions that disqualify them for private, personal health insurance coverage. Or the policy has a rider that covers costs for every ailment except the one they have. Eligible enrollees also make too much to qualify for TennCare. They are Tennessee's working poor.

AccessTN was created by Gov. Phil Bredesen after he decimated TennCare rolls in meeting his promise to "fix" the state's Medicaid program and also get re-elected.

About 41,000 people are now enrolled. Some members of the program's board earlier this month tried to install a cap of 60,000 amid a deepening economic recession. That's what Odom objected to. Enrollees still pay for their insurance coverage but at a reduced price. They work. They pay taxes. They're just poor.

So Odom spoke up and stopped the momentum on the board. He continues to show some ownership in the cause of protecting those who are hurting. Odom carried the bill pushed by TennCare advocates for premium assistance in AccessTN in 2006. He helped get $33 million set aside for assistance.

In case you want more information, which I doubt, AccessTN is part of the Cover Tennessee comprehensive legislation Bredesen created and got passed into law in a re-election year.

Now let's fast-forward to July 2008 and reporter John Rodgers, who is fast becoming the best legislative reporter in the state. His newspaper still doesn't respect him and does not feature his work often enough on the cover -- or at least provide a cover reference to it.

Rodgers reports that Odom is smartly moving toward becoming the next House speaker. The Nashville area Democrat has made it to majority leader. The current speaker, Jimmy Naifeh, is considering a run for governor. The path definitely has been cleared for the west Tennessee Democrat with Bill Purcell escaping to Harvard University.

So could Odom as speaker and Naifeh as governor be better for Tennessee and its most vulnerable citizens? Any political equation that does not include Phil Bredesen and Marsha Blackburn is a definite step forward.