Brett Kelman

Author's posts

Tennessee Tries To Rein In Ballad’s Hospital Monopoly After Years of Problems

Ballad Health, a 20-hospital system with the nation’s largest state-sanctioned hospital monopoly, serves patients in Tennessee, Virginia, Kentucky, and North Carolina.

Tennessee Agrees To Remove Sex Workers With HIV From Sex Offender Registry

For years, Tennessee has required anyone convicted of prostitution while HIV-positive to register as a sex offender for life. To settle DOJ and ACLU discrimination suits, the state has agreed to reverse course.

Tennessee Gives This Hospital Monopoly an A Grade — Even When It Reports Failure

Ballad Health, a 20-hospital system in Tennessee and Virginia, benefits from the largest state-sanctioned hospital monopoly in the United States and is the only option for hospital care for a large swath of Appalachia.

‘It Was a Bloodbath’: Rare Dialysis Complication Can Kill, and More Could Be Done To Stop It

A venous needle dislodgment is a rare dialysis complication that can kill a patient in minutes. Some experts worry those who treat themselves at home are at increased risk.

Doctor Lands in the Doghouse After Giving Covid Vaccine Waivers Too Freely

Richard Coble issued vaccine waivers to patients in at least three states without examining them. He was exposed by a Nashville TV station that bought a waiver for a Labrador retriever named Charlie.

ERs staffed by private equity firms aim to cut costs by hiring fewer doctors

Increasingly, private equity firms shape staffing decisions at hospital emergency rooms, research shows. One apparent effect: Hiring fewer doctors and more health care practitioners who earn far less.

Doctors Rush to Use Supreme Court Ruling to Escape Opioid Charges

After a unanimous ruling from the high court, doctors who are accused of writing irresponsible prescriptions can go to trial with a new defense: It wasn’t on purpose.

They Lost Medicaid When Paperwork Was Sent to an Empty Field, Signaling the Mess to Come

Tennessee expects to soon disenroll about 300,000 people from its Medicaid program. But families like the Lesters have suffered when bureaucracy and clerical mistakes caused them to unfairly lose coverage under the same program.

They lost Medicaid when paperwork was sent to a pasture, signaling the mess to come

Tennessee expects to soon disenroll about 300,000 people from Medicaid. But families like the Lesters have been entangled in bureaucracy and clerical mistakes, causing them to unfairly lose coverage.

Hospital-Acquired Pneumonia Is Killing Patients. Yet There Is a Simple Way to Stop It.

Hospital-acquired pneumonia not tied to ventilators is one of the most common infections that strike within health care facilities. But few hospitals take steps to prevent it, which can be as simple as dutifully brushing patients’ teeth.