NASHVILLE - With an end-of-session deadline looming, Tennessee lawmakers are weighing the option of whether to expand the state's Medicaid program, with the federal government covering almost all the additional cost.

The expansion would mean health coverage for at least 180,000 Tennesseeans who either can't afford insurance or don't have access to it.

Debbie Pare of Mount Juliet, a longtime registered nurse who now is retired, said the need is great.

"We are talking about our neighbors," she said, "people that you can relate to in your church or through your work that, through no fault of their own, have ended up in this category of people who need a form of coverage."

Expanding Medicaid would cost the state $200 million in the next five years, but it would receive around $6 billion in federal funding.

Pare said the state also would benefit because more people would get regular check-ups and care instead of waiting for health issues to become major problems. That's when the care becomes much more expensive, she said, and the bill goes unpaid or is taxpayer-subsidized.

"They tend to say, 'Oh, I can weather this,' or, 'I can hold out.' And what ultimately happens is, they become sicker and then the care is usually more complicated," she said. "Sometimes, the outcomes are not quite what they would be had they addressed the issues a little bit sooner."

A recent poll conducted for the Tennessee Hospital Association found a majority of people surveyed support the expansion. Pare said she hopes elected officials take that into consideration.

"I think it's important that you listen to what your constituents are saying and vote that way," she said. "I am hopeful that this is going to be a decision that's bipartisan."

More than two dozen states already have decided to move forward with Medicaid expansion, including eight states with Republican governors including New Jersey, Florida and Arizona.

Gov. Bill Haslem is expected to make a decision by the end of the month on whether he will support expanding the Medicaid program. Tennessee legislators who are in opposition say the state can't afford it.

More information is online at advisory.com.