Healthcare
Medical board meets to review COVID misinformation policy
The state’s doctor discipline board has called a special meeting on Tuesday to discuss their policy on holding physicians accountable for spreading COVID misinformation, after Republican lawmakers took action to curb the board’s powers to do so in late October. The 12-member Tennessee Board of Medical Examiners in September enacted a policy that warns “physicians […]
Chattanooga’s largest hospital system sues TennCare over payment practices
Chattanooga’s largest hospital has filed suit against TennCare over claims it is underpaying some hospitals for emergency care — the latest in a series of legal actions by Erlanger Health System alleging Tennessee officials are “purposely redistributing money from hospitals who treat Tennessee’s neediest citizens” to benefit insurance companies. It is the third lawsuit filed […]
No-bid contract earns company $55 million from state for contact tracing
In the early summer of 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic overwhelmed even the nation’s most robust public health programs, Tennessee became one of a handful of states that chose to outsource contact tracing to a private vendor. In June 2020, Hendersonville-based Xtend Healthcare, a for-profit medical billing firm without prior experience in infectious disease, inked […]
Republican lawmaker demands medical board end policy disciplining doctors for COVID misinformation
Tennessee Republican Rep. John Ragan has demanded that a state medical board remove a policy statement from its website that warns physicians who spread misinformation regarding COVID-19 vaccines risk disciplinary action. In a letter sent Monday to Dr. Melanie Blake, president of the Tennessee Board of Medical Examiners, Ragan instructed the statement be deleted “without […]
Tennessee must pay legal fees for abortion providers
The state of Tennessee has agreed to pay attorneys for abortion providers $249,000 to cover legal fees stemming from their challenge to an executive order by Gov. Bill Lee during the initial months of the COVID-19 pandemic that temporarily banned most abortions. The settlement — an agreed-upon sum between the office of Attorney General Herbert […]
Feds approve using COVID relief funds to expand home services for Tennesseans with disabilities
The federal government has approved a plan to use COVID relief funds to enroll up to 2,000 Tennesseans with disabilities — who are currently on a waiting list — into a state program that provides home and community-based services. The expansion of the program — known as Employment and Community First CHOICES, or ECF-CHOICES — […]
Metro Nashville Health gains grant to train doulas
The Metro Nashville Public Health Department will soon be seeking recruits for a federally-funded program aimed at creating additional support for expectant mothers in low-income areas. On Tuesday, Metro Health announced they have received $125,000 from the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) to fund a project aimed at recruiting and training doulas to […]
Commentary: Tennessee’s legislature needs to do the math on incentives
We need a special session of the Tennessee State Legislature – one that focuses on math – and we need it now. I am not opposed to reasonable tax breaks, infrastructure investment, and other incentives by Tennessee taxpayers, to attract the right kind of business and job opportunities to the state Even though I might […]
Abortion rights rally in Nashville draws hundreds
A rally by abortion rights advocates drew hundreds to the Tennessee Capitol on Saturday. The Rally for Abortion Justice was part of coordinated events in cities across the nation after a Texas law banning most abortions took effect. Photojournalist John Partipilo captured the event.
Coalition hold events for abortion justice in nine Tennessee cities
A coalition of progressive groups and organizations that work for reproductive rights is holding a rally for abortion justice in nine Tennessee cities on Saturday, with Murfreesboro serving as a central site. The “Bans off our Bodies” event is part of a Nationwide Day of Action for Abortion Rights which will feature more than 600 […]
Physicians fire back at governor’s COVID policies
Doctors across the state, including one who serves on Gov. Bill Lee’s COVID-19 advisory panel, are challenging his COVID-19 policies and cheering three court decisions to overturn his executive order allowing parents to opt out of school mask mandates. Dr. Erica Kaye, a pediatrician, oncologist and palliative care physician at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital […]
Katie Beckett program for kids with disabilities falls short in first year
A program for Tennessee children with disabilities or complex medical needs has enrolled fewer than 1,000 children as it nears the end of its first year in operation, far short of the 3,000 children that state officials originally estimated would be served annually. The Katie Beckett program was signed into law by Gov. Bill Lee […]