The backlash over Erlanger’s Health System awarding bonuses to its top managers appears to be ramping up as local lawmakers ready for the state legislative session.
Hamilton County delegation members said Tuesday they plan to ask the state attorney general whether the public hospital’s trustees violated the open meetings law when they discussed paying out $2.7 million in performance-related bonuses during two closed meetings before they publicly voted on Dec. 4.
And the repercussions could extend beyond the Chattanooga hospital, lawmakers said during a roundtable discussion with Times Free Press reporters and editors.
Delegation members said Erlanger’s decision has now “clouded” their view of Gov. Bill Haslam’s plan to expand Medicaid and also spurred a bill that could remove public hospitals’ special strategic exemption to open meetings law.
Referring to potential political fallout, state Sen. Todd Gardenhire, R-Chattanooga, said the Erlanger payouts “could be the most expensive bonuses anybody has ever gotten.”