Story Published:
Mar 29, 2010 at 9:25 PM CST
Story Updated:
Mar 29, 2010 at 9:25 PM CST
It's been stirring a bit of controversy since it's introduction. And, according to a report Sunday by the Herald-Citizen, it will soon be dead.
Senate Bill 3020, sponsored by Sen. Charlotte Burks (D-Monterey) and House Bill 3171, sponsored by Rep. Charles Curtiss (D-Sparta) are pieces of legislation that, if enacted, would "do great harm" to the Cookeville Regional Medical Center, according to hospital CEO Bernie Mattingly.
The bills would prohibit state employee health providers from entering into exclusive contracts with Cookeville Regional Medical Center. According to hospital CEO Bernie Mattingly, such contracts for service as a part of a health plan with any group of people are a common practice among health providers and do not constitute any sort of "monopoly."
Mattingly was joined by the CRMC board and by the City of Cookeville in passing resolutions asking that the bill be withdrawn immediately upon learning of its introduction in January. Representatives on the City Council indicated that the bill had caught them by surprise and that it seemed to unfairly target CRMC.
In February, Rep. Fincher defended the bill in a letter to CookevilleTimes.com, stating that "It seems like the hospital is trying to make Cookeville a "company town" for health care. They want to own the entire market. I don't think this is good for the Upper Cumberland. The people of the Upper Cumberland deserve choice in health care, and I will keep fighting for it."
According to the Tennessee General Assembly bill history, an action was taken on 3/25/2010 to place the bill on the Senate S&L Government Committee calendar for 3/30/2010. The action taken by Curtiss on 3/10/2010 was to refer the bill to the State and Local Government Committee as well, where it was referred to a sub-committee.
For today, it lives, but the Herald-Citizen reported Sunday that Rep. Curtiss intends to kill the bill because the bill "is not getting traction." Curtiss was quoted as saying "We've got a committee that's over all our insurance programs and they're not recommending for a change to be made. If they're not going to recommend it, we're not going to get it done and it's a wasted effort to go further." In the article, Curtiss is also quoted as saying that Rep. Fincher was in support of the move.
No statement was made as to why the committee was failing to recommend the bill or as to Sen. Burks' position on the bill.
