Knoxville News Sentinel: [1]

The state Senate today refused to go along with a House-approved proposal that would allow Mercy Health Systems to bypass normal regulatory approval for merging facilities of Baptist and St. Mary's hospitals in Knoxville.

This was sponsored by Rep. Joe Armstrong, who is on Mercy's board. Was it out of bounds ethically for him to even propose this? Should there be special rules for St. Mary's? Maybe they should be subject to tighter regulation and closer scrutiny, instead of less, now that they dominate the market.