Image Credit: Ballad Health & Leslie Taylor
The Tennessee Conservative [By David Seal]-
If you want to invest in and start a business to compete in the healthcare industry in the state of Tennessee, you must apply for a permission slip from the state government.
If big brother grants you a “permission slip” under Tennessee’s Certificate of Need (CON) Laws, you can then open your healthcare business. This is the simplest way to describe CON laws.
Many grassroots organizations equate this process to protectionism for big operators and special interests. In short, Tennessee’s CON laws limit normal competition in the healthcare field.
Greene County Commissioner Josh Arrowood sponsored a resolution asking the Tennessee General Assembly to repeal the CON laws to “Eliminate Healthcare Monopolies, Restore Competition, and Improve Access, Affordability and Quality of Care” in the state of Tennessee.
Greene County Commission rejected the resolution in a 5 to 15 vote, voting board is pictured below.
The legislature has tinkered around the edges for several years with Certificate of Need laws. However, the competition eliminating framework remains alive and well in Tennessee to the delight of big medical interests that wish to squash out competitors.
One former Ballad nurse had a few harsh words for the naysayers on the Greene County Commission. In fact, she moved out of state just to make a living and offered the following commentary on social media.
“Greene County’s decision to support Ballad Health wasn’t an act of preservation—it was an act of self-preservation. In choosing consolidation and corporate control over community collaboration, local leaders traded the long-term health of an entire region for short-term financial comfort and political favor.
Ballad’s press statements may celebrate “investments” and “expansion,” but behind those words lies a monopoly that has stripped countless communities of independent hospital access, accountability, and patient trust. Greene County may have gained a few shiny upgrades, but the rest of Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia were left with shuttered hospitals, extended transport times, and preventable deaths.
Greene County’s self-serving vote didn’t just harm their neighbors—it poisoned the entire ecosystem of rural healthcare. What looks like progress is, in truth, the slow suffocation of regional care.” – said Leslie Taylor, Nurse Practitioner, PMHNP-BC, SWAG Mental Health Services, Director of Clinical Services
The Tennessee Conservative News reached out to Taylor to provide additional commentary for this news report on the issue. Her comments are provided in the letter pictured below.
The Greene County Resolution that was rejected states in part that the Greene County Commission recognizes the importance of free markets, condemns monopolies, and urges the legislature to repeal Tennessee’s Certificate of Need Laws.
The full text of the rejected Green County Resolution (H) is provided below.
About the Author: David Seal is a retired Jefferson County educator, recognized artist, local businessman, 917 Society Volunteer, and past Chairman of the Jefferson County Republican Party. He has also served Jefferson County as a County Commissioner and is a citizen lobbyist for the people on issues such as eminent domain, property rights, education, and broadband accessibility on the state level. David is also a 2024 winner of The Tennessee Conservative Flame Award & has received an accolade from the Institute For Justice for successfully lobbing the TN legislature to protect property rights. David can be reached at david@tennesseeconservativenews.com.
One Response
Easy to see who’s either on the take or just plain sorry.