Assistant Attorney General-Certificate of Public Advantage (COPA) – Healthcare Division

The Tennessee Attorney General and Reporter represents all State executives, officials, departments, boards, agencies, and commissions in matters arising from their public duties. Such representation includes participation in litigation, transactional matters, and giving day-to-day legal advice to a wide variety of State entities. The Attorney General's Office employs approximately 200 attorneys organized into 16 legal divisions within 5 sections.

About the Healthcare Division:

The Healthcare Division is part of the State Services and Litigation Section of the Attorney General’s Office. The Division advises and defends the Department of Health and its related regulatory boards (e.g., the Board of Dentistry, the Board of Medical Examiners, the Board of Nursing, and the Board of Optometry), the Office of Vital Records, the Office of Vital Statistics, and the Health Facilities Commission.

The Division also advises the Department of Health with respect to the Tennessee Hospital Cooperation Act, Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 68-11-1301 – 1310. The Act grants the Department of Health and the Attorney General’s Office the authority to issue a Certificate of Public Advantage (COPA). The COPA statutes permit the State to approve the proposed merger of two or more hospitals where the likely benefits of the merger outweigh the likely disadvantages that may result from a reduction in competition in the healthcare market.

In January 2018, the State of Tennessee and Commonwealth of Virginia approved the Cooperative Agreement and proposed merger submitted by Wellmont Health Systems and Mountain States Health Alliance to form Ballad Health. Tennessee issued a COPA approving the formation of Ballad, and Virginia issued its Cooperative Agreement. Relevant information on the COPA and Cooperative Agreement can be accessed via the embedded links provided herein.

The Healthcare Division of the Attorney General’s Office and the Department of Health supervise the COPA issued to Ballad to ensure ongoing compliance with the COPA and its governing contract, the Terms of Certification (TOC).

Job Overview:

The State of Tennessee is seeking an Assistant Attorney General (AAG) who will support the Deputy Attorney General of the Healthcare Division on COPA matters. The AAG will participate in the active supervision of the COPA issued to Ballad, by monitoring the New Health System’s compliance with the COPA and the TOC, and by collaborating with the Department to evaluate performance against the COPA statutes, rules and regulations.

The duties and responsibilities of the COPA AAG include, but are not limited to, the following:

Advise the Department of Health on the interpretation and enforcement of the COPA statutes and the TOC governing the parties involved.
Review and advise the Department of Health on COPA requests from Ballad and complaints from the community, stakeholders, or others.
Review and analyze COPA-required reports from Ballad for completeness and compliance with the COPA and the TOC.
Evaluate and advise the Department of Health on Ballad’s provision of a public advantage sufficient to continue the operation of the COPA and advise on potential modifications to the COPA as required to demonstrate the continuing public advantage resulting from the COPA’s issuance.
Attend weekly COPA meetings with the Department of Health and joint weekly meetings between the Tennessee and Virginia Departments of Health.
Attend monthly meetings with the Commissioner of the Department of Health.
Attend monthly virtual meetings with Ballad and quarterly meetings with Ballad held in Johnson City, Tennessee.
Attend annual public COPA meetings in Northeast Tennessee.
Attend meetings as requested by stakeholders in the community as well as public officials and executives from other state offices and branches of government.
As assigned, advise and represent the Department of Health in other matters, including but not limited to adjudications of professional disciplinary matters heard under the Tennessee Uniform Administrative Procedures Act (UAPA).

The ideal candidate will have the following qualifications:

Juris Doctorate and Tennessee bar admission or ability to apply for admission without examination.
Prior experience advising state or other regulatory bodies on COPAs, or prior antitrust experience related to health systems or healthcare providers.
Familiarity or prior experience ensuring compliance with the state action immunity doctrine in antitrust law.
Prior in-house counsel experience at a hospital or health system, or equivalent experience in private practice.
General familiarity with the healthcare industry and trends.
Familiarity with or background in public health.
Experience with payor-system contracts and performance thereon.
Excellent writing and reasoning skills.

TO APPLY:

Applications can be submitted via our online applicant portal. Please direct questions to hrteam@ag.tn.gov.

Pursuant to the State of Tennessee’s Workplace Discrimination and Harassment policy, the State is firmly committed to the principle of fair and equal employment opportunities for its citizens and strives to protect the rights and opportunities of all people to seek, obtain, and hold employment without being subjected to illegal discrimination and harassment in the workplace. It is the State’s policy to provide an environment free of discrimination and harassment of an individual because of that person’s race, color, national origin, age (40 and over), sex, pregnancy, religion, creed, disability, veteran’s status, or any other category protected by state and/or federal civil rights laws. Offers for this position will be contingent upon a satisfactory criminal history check.