CHATTANOOGA (AP) — The Tennessee Department of Health has issued licenses to 255 pain clinics since a new law took effect on Jan. 1 requiring the step.The Chattanooga Times Free Press reports there are another 20 applications being reviewed, while 19 have been rejected.The law imposes regulations on pain management clinics in an effort to crack down on so-called pill mills. In addition to licenses, the new regulations outlaw cash payments for treatment and require licensed physicians to be present in the clinic at least 20 percent of the time.In an examination of licenses, the newspaper found the highest concentration of clinics was in the Northeast corner of the state and among rural counties of the Cumberland Plateau. It also found some doctors serve as medical directors to as many as 11 clinics.The licenses will give the state more information about the pain clinics, said state Sen. Andy Berke, D-Chattanooga, who co-sponsored the law.“Once we get our hands around the scope of the problem, it makes it easier to figure out what the next step should be and will make the enforcement much easier,” Berke said.Some counties, such as Coffee, have one clinic for fewer than 10,000 residents.