Special Session Promises An Expansion Of Tennessee Government Power

Image Credit: Gov. Bill Lee / Facebook

The Tennessee Conservative [By Kelly M. Jackson] –

In the upcoming special session, Governor Bill Lee will propose an itemized agenda that he says will address the “mental health crisis” in Tennessee. He states that addressing this mental health crisis will lead to an improvement in public safety, which has been a constant topic of debate since the shooting at the Covenant School back in March.

The Tennessee Conservative previously reported on what an expansion of “mental health” benefits would look like when dispensed with the means of government money and the participation of outside mental health organizations. 

Here is yet another example:  Ballad Health was allowed to come into existence because it proposed that by coalescing several of the major healthcare systems in the area into one, it could provide better care, more often and have the ability be more charitable with its dispensation of care to the poor at no cost. 

In order to do this, they needed permission from the state. Allowing these several systems to combine into one would, in effect, be elimination of the competitive environment in that large swath of the state, putting independent providers at a significant disadvantage if not wiping them out completely.  Because of this arrangement, the new larger system would be subject to government supervision, which results in more scrutiny and less control over how they operate and choose to care for their patients. 

After several years of wrangling and public testimony, the merger was allowed to commence in 2018, based on promises made by Ballad Health to the state in the first 6 years it would be allowed to operate.

In Year 5 of 6, it appears that Ballad health has failed in all of its major objectives upon which it predicated its very reason for existence. In addition, the only thing seemingly keeping them afloat are the nearly 242 million dollars in COVID relief funds given to them from the federal government.

According to our sources, overpayment of administrative multi-million-dollar salaries, suing poor patients, and offering less charitable care to make up the difference is generally what resulted from Ballad’s formation.

Many fear that with the touted “Mental Health Crisis” in Tennessee, state and federal government now has a new public health crisis to exploit and potentially use an excuse to rob residents of their individual freedoms and rights.

In the upcoming special session, Governor Lee is proposing for potential passage, a pervasive expansion of Medicare and Medicaid that would be unprecedented in the state’s history. 

The primary goals of Governor Lee’s special session are: 

1. Codify Executive Order 100 which makes changes to the Tennessee Instant Check System (TICS), an expedited background check system carrying not only criminal history but also mental health adjudications to be reported to firearms dealers.

2. Require DNA collection for all felony arrests (not convictions).

3. Expand Medicaid to cover mental health programs funded with federal money.

4. Mental health orders of protection (red flag laws).

5. The structure and operation of state and local courts (presumably to make way for new processes concerning mental health and orders of protection).

To break this down into simpler terms, the Governor’s items would:

1.  allow the state’s top law enforcement agency access to personal healthcare information

2. compel a DNA contribution if arrested even if those charges eventually do not result in any sort of criminal conviction

3. create an expansion of Medicare and Medicaid with federal dollars which would essentially mean the co-opting of the state’s healthcare system by the federal government and all that it implies in the way of control

4. create Red Flag laws that would allow for nearly anyone to be subject to having their constitutional rights infringed by just the signature of a judge without having committed any crime

5. allow an expansion of the court system to provide room for all the new clerks and administrative aids that will be needed to push all that new paper all over the system. 

The catalyst for the Special Session still has facts associated with it that only those in the highest positions of state and local government are privy to. 

The Covenant shooter’s manifesto still has not been released to the public, nor to most officials that will be making decisions that affect all Tennesseans.

Tennesseans can find their Representatives and Senators HERE to contact them regarding their thoughts on the Special Session.

About the Author: Kelly Jackson is a recent escapee from corporate America, and a California refugee to Tennessee. Christ follower, Wife and Mom of three amazing teenagers. She has a BA in Comm from Point Loma Nazarene University, and has a background in law enforcement and human resources. Since the summer of 2020, she has spent any and all free time in the trenches with local grassroots orgs, including Mom’s for Liberty Williamson County and Tennessee Stands as a core member.  Outspoken advocate for parents rights, medical freedom, and individual liberty. Kelly can be reached at kelly@tennesseeconservativenews.com.