House Bill 2600, also known as Senate Bill 2620, seeks to amend the Tennessee Code Annotated regarding the Hospital Cooperation Act of 1993. The bill expresses the General Assembly's findings that the current economic experiment allowing hospital monopolies, particularly the merger that created Ballad Health, has resulted in significant public harms. These include Ballad Health's failure to meet its charity care obligations by approximately $148 million over four years and a decline in quality-of-care ratings for its major community hospitals. The bill argues that the oversight provided by the Tennessee Department of Health and the Attorney General has been insufficient, leading to a lack of transparency and accountability in the healthcare sector.

To address these issues, the bill introduces new provisions that prohibit hospitals from negotiating or entering into anti-competitive agreements and restricts state funds or employees from engaging in activities that could be perceived as supervising anti-competitive conduct in healthcare. The legislation emphasizes a shift in policy to promote competition among hospitals, aligning with the Tennessee Constitution's principles. The act will take effect upon becoming law and will apply to contracts and agreements executed, modified, or renewed after the effective date.