Bredesen: Ford Asked for Help for TennCare Company

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Gov. Phil Bredesen, testifying on the second day of former state Sen. John Ford's corruption trial in Nashville, said Ford asked him to help a TennCare contractor get more enrollees. Bredesen said on Thursday that Ford told him Memphis-based managed care organization Omnicare, which had 120,000 enrollees, needed 20,000 more. The governor said he found the request "striking" because he had run a successful managed care businesses with as few as 30,000 or 40,000 enrollees. Bredesen said he did not know then that Ford had a financial interest in Omnicare. Under cross-examination Bredesen said it was not unusual for Ford to ask him to help businesses like Omnicare, which was minority-owned and based in Ford's Memphis district. The governor said he had no personal knowledge of any payments from Omnicare to... [read full story]