NASHVILLE (AP) - Insure Tennessee supporters have held a protest inside the lobby of Republican House Speaker Beth Harwell's office at the legislative office complex in Nashville.

The protesters read statements, waved signs and placed shoes representing uninsured Tennesseans at the entrance to Harwell's office on Tuesday. State troopers stood nearby to help lawmakers, lobbyists and other visitors gain entry to the speaker's suite.

Gov. Bill Haslam last year proposed extending Medicaid coverage to 280,000 low-income Tennesseans, but the measure failed to gain sufficient support among fellow Republicans in the Legislature who worried about supporting a program closely tied to President Barack Obama's signature health care law.

Haslam has said he doesn't expect the Insure Tennessee proposal to be revisited until after this year's presidential election.