NASHVILLE (AP) - Gov. Bill Haslam is unsure of his next steps after fellow Republicans swiftly defeated his Insure Tennessee proposal in the Legislature this week.

Speaking to reporters after the measure was defeated in the Senate Health Committee on Wednesday, the governor said: "I don't know what the next step looks like."

Haslam was seeking authorization from lawmakers to proceed with an agreement with the federal government to extend coverage to 280,000 low-income Tennesseans.

While the governor had the strong support of hospital and doctors associations and the state Chamber of Commerce, many Republicans remained unwilling to cast their votes in favor of a program funded through President Barack Obama's health care law.

Under the two-year pilot program, Tennessee stood to gain $2.8 billion in federal Medicaid money.