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Lee urges legislative reforms to access $1 billion rural health fund, targets certificate-of-need changes
Summary
During the State of the State, Gov. Bill Lee said Tennessee could receive $1 billion over five years through a federal rural health transformation fund but said state law must be reformed to let providers practice fully and to update certificate-of-need rules that he said have blocked investment.
Gov. Bill Lee told the joint convention Tennessee has an opportunity to receive $1,000,000,000 over the next five years through a federal rural health transformation fund but that state statute must be changed to enable eligibility and rollout.
"In order to be eligible for these federal dollars, Tennessee must take legislative action to make it easier for medical professionals to practice and easier for rural health care facilities to operate," Lee said. He identified certificate of need laws as a key barrier to investment, saying those laws were created decades ago to prevent overbuilding but now limit competition and have kept nearly $1,500,000,000 in health-care investment from entering the state since 2000, according to his remarks.
Lee argued the changes would allow pharmacists, nurse practitioners and physician assistants to provide additional services in underserved areas and make it simpler for rural hospitals and clinics to add capacity. He framed the request as necessary to capture federal resources and to transform care closer to home for rural Tennesseans.
The governor did not present draft statutory language in the joint convention; his remarks amount to a request that the legislature consider bills to modernize practice rules and certificate-of-need statutes. Committees will need to review bill text, federal grant requirements and potential impacts on providers before any changes take effect.
