Following the Tennessee Supreme Court’s decision striking down a $50 cap on TennCare reimbursements for emergency room non-emergency health conditions, the state agency says it is “considering next steps.” The cap, which has been in place for more than a decade, was originally set to help cut costs as the agency was facing a $100 million shortfall. At the time, the agency promised to go through a standard rule-making process to put the cap in place, but that never occurred, Tennessee Lookout reports. The court ruling now potentially opens up taxpayers to years of back claims from hospitals and doctors in the state.

The Tennessee Supreme Court yesterday adopted Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 55 – Use of Technology for Court Proceedings. The rule allows the use of teleconferencing, video conferencing and other technology to conduct court proceedings remotely at the discretion of the trial or appellate court. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the court encouraged the use of technology to facilitate remote proceedings, and has since found that parties and courts benefit from remote proceedings, making the pandemic exception a permanent option.

The 21st Judicial District Recovery Court in Williamson County has received a $5,000 “Helper Grant” from the Nashville Predators Foundation. The grant is named for Predators Senior Vice President Gerry Helper. His wife, Williamson County District Attorney Kim Helper, died in March. She had been an original member of the recovery court board and was a strong supporter. The funds will be used for “reentry baskets,” which are given to those entering the recovery court program, 99% of whom come directly from jail. Read more from the Administrative Office of the Courts.

The Tennessee Supreme Court has three cases set for its June 1 docket. The first two cases will be heard in Nashville beginning at 1 p.m. CDT tomorrow. The final case will be submitted on briefs. The cases are: Peggy Mathes et al. v. 99 Hermitage, LLC, Thomas Edward Clardy v. State of Tennessee, and Loring E. Justice v. Board of Professional Responsibility. Arguments will be livestreamed to the TNCourts YouTube page. Read more about the cases from the Administrative Office of the Courts.

An item in yesterday's issue of TBA Today incorrectly stated the Tennessee Supreme Court ruled in favor of a cap on payments to physicians. The court actually held the cap is void and has no effect because it needed to be implemented through the rule making process. Read the corrected story here.

The Tennessee Supreme Court in a unanimous ruling today found that a $50 cap imposed by the Division of TennCare on reimbursements to certain health providers is a “rule” within the meaning of the Uniform Administrative Procedures Act. Because of that, the cap should have been handled through the agency’s notice-and-comment rulemaking process and, because it was not, it was found to be void. The decision reversed the Court of Appeals, which had found the cap qualified for an “internal-management exception.” TennCare had relied on that exemption to promulgate the change. Read more about the case from the Administrative Office of the Courts or access the opinion.

The Tennessee Supreme Court announced Tuesday that the trial court had appropriately declined to require a defendant physician to opine on the defendant nurse-midwife’s performance outside of the physician’s presence. In 2014, a child was born via cesarean section and suffered permanent brain damage. Through her mother, Brittany Borngne, the child sued the doctor who delivered her and the certified nurse midwife who was initially in charge of the birthing process. The doctor, in a pre-trial deposition, refused to opine on the nurse midwife’s performance outside of his presence, and the trial court declined to require him to do so. Read the full decision.

The Tennessee Supreme Court today held oral arguments in two cases before the American Legion Boys State at Tennessee Technological University. The event was part of the court’s award-winning SCALES program, which is designed to educate students about the judicial branch of government. Read about the cases or watch the arguments on the court’s YouTube page.

Judge Camille R. McMullen has been reappointed by the Tennessee Supreme Court to another term as a member of the Board of Judicial Conduct, commencing on July 1 and expiring on June 30, 2026.

The Tennessee Supreme Court has reversed the termination of the parental rights of two parents whose infant son suffered multiple rib fractures while in their custody. In the opinion released Friday, the court held that under Tennessee law, the evidence did not support a trial court’s finding that the parents’ failure to protect their child from injury was “knowing.” The court emphasized that its decision to reverse the termination of parental rights did not mean that the parents automatically regain custody of the child.