Committee votes to end COPPA for Ballad Health and shift pricing oversight to the Attorney General after 2028

Senator Jeff Watson moved an amendment to terminate the existing Certificate of Public Advantage (COPPA) covering the Ballad Health merger on June 30, 2028 while preserving contractual pricing restrictions for up to five more years or until a new inpatient acute‑care hospital opens. The amendment would transfer oversight of those pricing restrictions to the Tennessee Attorney General and require the entity subject to the pricing restrictions to cover the Attorney General's supervision costs.

Senator Watson framed the proposal as part of a broader rural health transformation and a step toward restoring a more competitive market while keeping price oversight in the hands of an enforcement authority after the COPPA period ends. Lacey Blair of the Tennessee Hospital Association said the association is neutral on the bill as drafted if it retains a licensure pathway and outpatient licensing language for cardiac cath and free‑standing emergency departments.

Several senators representing rural districts expressed concern about maintaining access and stability for small and critical‑access hospitals during the transition. Watson and supporters said the legislature is investing in rural health transformation funding and that the COPPA wind‑down is deliberate and tied to parallel investments in rural services.

The committee voted to approve the measure, and the bill was sent to the calendar. Proponents said the change moves pricing oversight into an enforcement framework and begins the process of reopening competition, with continued attention to rural hospital stability.