Image Credit: Williamson Health
Tennessee Conservative News [By Olivia Lupia] –
Questions about the decision to move forward in selling Williamson Health, a county-owned health system, have become urgent for many Republicans in Williamson County as the proceeds could be placed in a private healthcare trust which will not return those funds to taxpayer use, raising concerns about transparency, oversight, and backroom political machinations.
According to Williamson County Republican Party Chairman Steve Hickey, the issue first gained prevalence last summer when County Commissioner Chris Richards discovered the exploratory process for the sale was much further along than originally announced.
Richards and fellow conservative Commissioner Lisa Hayes were outspoken in their concerns about how the process was unfolding, saying they were being left in the dark and that legally required confidentiality was becoming weaponized to avoid oversight.
Back in April of this year, Richards and Hayes stated they were not opposed to the sale in principle, especially given the county’s $1.1 billion debt, but argued that they had not received appropriate information as those elected to represent the taxpayers.
Because of the lack of information offered, the commissioners could not even reliably answer how much the hospital was worth, who was bidding on it, or how the proceeds would ultimately be used.
“It’s embarrassing,” Richards said at the time. “When constituents ask who’s bidding on the hospital, and I don’t know.” Notably, Richards and Hayes were both unseated after Hickey said the “establishment worked overtime” to defeat them “for their outspokenness on this issue and others.”
The sale is being managed by the hospital’s Board of Trustees, which entertained bids from at least three healthcare giants, with many documents delivered less than two hours before the vote on Monday about whether to sell or remain independent.
Shortly after, the Board announced its decision to sell Williamson Health, opting to take the county’s only hospital out of the government’s hands for the first time in nearly 70 years. During their special meeting, the Board unanimously recommended to accept Ascension’s proposal valued at approximately $950 million.
Reportedly, the agreement includes a $700 million purchase price along with commitments for additional investments including $235 million over the next 10 years for facility improvements and electronic health records. Ascension also pledged another $140 million for strategic projects in the first five years and $20 million for “routine capital improvements.”
The sale still must be cleared by the County Commission, which called a special session for Monday evening to receive the hospital board’s recommendation, and Hickey urged Republicans to attend, even rescheduling the party’s regular monthly meeting so members could be present.
“The Williamson County Republican Party has maintained a clear and consistent position on this issue from the beginning. We strongly advocate for a solution that ensures outstanding healthcare for Williamson Countians at competitive prices. On the matter of any potential sale proceeds, we are resolute: those funds belong to the taxpayers who invested in this asset over seven decades. They must be returned transparently and accountability to the citizens—ideally to pay down debt or prevent additional borrowing on future projects. Any outcome that fails to return the net proceeds to county taxpayers in a transparent manner is unacceptable,” he wrote.
A state law from the early 2000s prevented the net proceeds from such a sale being returned directly to the taxpayers, but legislative efforts from this year may have helped partially address the issue.
During this year’s legislative session, SB2194, sponsored by Sen. Jack Johnson, was passed and enacted into Tennessee code, theoretically giving local governments more flexibility on how proceeds from a public hospital sale valued at over $500 million are distributed, rather than forcing 100% of the funds into a healthcare-only trust.
At their special session Monday, the County Commission did not vote on whether to approve the sale, but when they do, it must be by a 2/3 margin for the new law’s trust exemption to apply. If that threshold is not reached but the sale is still approved by a simple majority, the regulations requiring the funds to go into an independent trust will likely still apply, and Hickey and other conservatives are skeptical about who would be managing that trust in that case.
Williamson County community members remain concerned about how much would ultimately be returned to the county and the usage of the funds under either scenario, especially given how much of the sale process to this point was completed behind closed doors with no accountability to taxpayers under the auspices of “confidential strategic planning process as outlined by Tennessee state law.”
About the Author: Olivia Lupia is a political refugee from Colorado who now calls Tennessee home. A proud follower of Christ, she views all political happenings through a Biblical lens and aims to utilize her knowledge and experience to educate and equip others. Olivia is an outspoken conservative who has run for local office, managed campaigns, and been highly involved with state & local GOPs, state legislatures, and other grassroots organizations and movements. Olivia can be reached at olivia@tennesseeconservativenews.com.
