(a) Notwithstanding title 47, chapter 25, or any other law, a cooperative agreement for which a certificate of public advantage has been issued is a lawful agreement. Notwithstanding title 47, chapter 25, or any other law, if the parties to a cooperative agreement file an application for a certificate of public advantage governing the agreement with the department, the conduct of the parties in negotiating and entering into a cooperative agreement is lawful conduct. Nothing in this subsection (a) immunizes any person for conduct in negotiating and entering into a cooperative agreement for which an application for a certificate of public advantage is not filed.
Terms Used In Tennessee Code 68-11-1306
Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
Cooperative agreement: means an agreement among two (2) or more hospitals for the consolidation by merger or other combination of assets, offering, provision, operation, planning, funding, pricing, contracting, utilization review or management of health services or for the sharing, allocation, or referral of patients, personnel, instructional programs, support services and facilities or medical, diagnostic or laboratory facilities or procedures or other services traditionally offered by hospitals. See Tennessee Code 68-11-1302
Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
Person: includes a corporation, firm, company or association. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
(b) If the department determines that the applicants have not established by clear and convincing evidence that the likely benefits resulting from a cooperative agreement outweigh any disadvantages attributable to any potential reduction in competition resulting from the agreement, then the agreement is invalid and has no further force or effect, except that the department’s active supervision shall continue until the plan of separation in § 68-11-1303(g) has been determined by the department to be complete.(c) Nothing in this part exempts hospitals or other health care providers from compliance with laws governing certificates of need.(d) Any dispute among the parties to a cooperative agreement concerning its meaning or terms is governed by normal principles of contract law.
