Ballad Cites 'fine Line' On Releasing Information

After a Johnson City lawmaker filed legislation last week that would conceal certain Ballad Health records from the public record, hospital officials have clarified exactly what the bill would do and why it is needed. The three-page bill, sponsored by Sen. Rusty Crowe, would mask 14 categories of records Ballad Health is required to share with the Tennessee Department of Health as part of the stringent Certificate of Public Advantage monitoring process. In addition, all records received or created by the independent entity actually monitoring the conglomerate would also be exempt from the public’s purview under Crowe’s legislation. Hospital officials believe the legislation is needed to prevent competitors from exploiting those records to gain a competitive edge. For more on this story, visit the Johnson City Press.