Title 68, Health, Safety and Environmental Protection

(1) As used in this part, unless the context otherwise requires:(1) “Commissioner” means the commissioner of health;(2) “Cooperative agreement” means an agreement among two (2) or more hospitals for the consolidation by merger or other combination of assets, offering, provision, …

(a) It is the policy of this state, in certain instances, to displace competition among hospitals with regulation to the extent set forth in this part and to actively supervise that regulation to the fullest extent required by law, in order to promote cooperation and coordination…

(a) Any applicant or certificate holder aggrieved by a decision of the department denying an application, refusing to act on an application, or terminating a certificate is entitled to judicial review of the department's decision by the chancery court of Davidson County, which sh…

(a) The attorney general and reporter, at any time after an application is filed under § 68-11-1303(c), may require by subpoena the attendance and testimony of witnesses and the production of documents in Davidson County or the county in which the applicants are located for the p…

(a) Notwithstanding title 47, chapter 25, or any other law, a cooperative agreement for which a certificate of public advantage has been issued is a lawful agreement. Notwithstanding title 47, chapter 25, or any other law, if the parties to a cooperative agreement file an applica…

(a) (1) Parties to a cooperative agreement who have applied to the department for a certificate of public advantage shall pay the charges incurred in the examination of the initial application and, in the event the certificate of public advantage is approved, the charges incurred…

Unless otherwise permitted by law, nothing in this part shall be deemed to grant any hospital or group of hospitals, pursuant to a cooperative agreement, the authority to operate as a health maintenance organization, preferred provider organization or insurer without obtaining an…

Nothing in this part shall be deemed to permit any referral to a provider-owned facility otherwise prohibited by state or federal law.

(a) The following records received by the department or the attorney general and reporter from the recipients or applicants of a certificate of public advantage for a cooperative agreement issued pursuant to this part shall not be subject to disclosure pursuant to title 10, chapt…

(1) As used in this part, unless the context otherwise requires:(1) “Alzheimer's disease” or “Alzheimer's related dementia” means a progressive, degenerative disease or condition that attacks the brain and results in impaired memory, thinking and behavior; and(2) “Department” mea…

For the purposes of this part, “care,” “treatment” and “therapeutic activities” shall not include the sole activity of marketing, selling, manufacturing or dispensing medication that is approved by the food and drug administration and prescribed by a person licensed to practice m…

(a) This part shall not apply to an individual licensed to practice medicine under § 63-6-204, and any person employed by such an individual; provided, that, except for facilities exempted from this part pursuant to § 68-11-1404(a), any facility licensed under part 2 of this chap…

(a) Any entity, facility, program or any instrumentality of the state or political subdivision of the state that advertises, markets or offers to provide specialized care, treatment or therapeutic activities for one (1) or more persons with a probable diagnosis of Alzheimer's dis…

(1) The disclosure required by § 68-11-1404 shall explain the specialized care, treatment or therapeutic activities provided to patients, residents or participants with Alzheimer's disease or Alzheimer's related dementia as follows:(1) The overall philosophy and mission of the en…

(a) (1) The department may examine the disclosure form required by this part to verify its accuracy. If determined to be inaccurate, the department shall require the entity, facility, program or the instrumentality of the state or of a political subdivision to:(A) Provide the spe…

This part shall be known and may be cited as the “Patient's Privacy Protection Act.”

Every patient entering and receiving care at a health care facility licensed by the board for licensing health care facilities has the expectation of and right to privacy for care received at such facility.

(a) (1) The name and address and other identifying information of a patient shall not be divulged, except for:(A) Any statutorily required reporting to health or government authorities;(B) Access by an interested third-party payer or designee, for the purpose of utilization revie…

The penalties and injunctions available under this chapter shall apply to this part. Civil actions for damages for invasion of privacy shall also be available to a person for violations of this part.

Nothing in this part shall be construed as prohibiting the information made confidential by this part from being subject to the subpoena of a court of competent jurisdiction.

This part is known and may be cited as the “Tennessee Health Services and Planning Act of 2021.”

(1) As used in this part:(1) “Board” means the board for licensing healthcare facilities;(2) “Certificate of need” means a permit granted by the health facilities commission to a person for those services specified as requiring a certificate of need under § 68-11-1607 at a design…

It is declared to be the public policy of this state that the establishment and modification of healthcare institutions, facilities, and services must be accomplished in a manner that promotes access to necessary, high quality, and cost-effective services for the health care of t…

(1) In addition to the powers granted elsewhere in this part, the commission has the duty and responsibility to:(1) Develop criteria and standards to guide the commission when issuing certificates of need that are:(A) Based, in whole or in part, upon input the commission received…

(a) Except as provided in § 68-11-1303(j), a person shall not perform the following actions in this state, except after applying for and receiving a certificate of need for the action:(1) The construction, development, or other establishment of a type of healthcare institution as…

(a) The executive director may place applications to be considered on a consent or emergency calendar established in accordance with commission rule. (b) The rule must provide that, in order to qualify for the consent calendar, an application must not be opposed by a person with …

(a) The commission shall, upon consideration of an application and review of the evaluation and other relevant information:(1) Approve part or all of the application and grant a certificate of need, upon lawful conditions that the commission deems appropriate and enforceable on t…

(a) Within fifteen (15) days of a denial by the commission of all or part of an application, an applicant may petition the commission in writing for a hearing. The petition must be filed with the executive director. Notwithstanding another law, an applicant is barred from filing …

The commission shall, at least annually, review progress on a project covered by an issued certificate of need, and may require a showing by the holder of the certificate of substantial and timely progress to implement the project. If, in the opinion of the executive director, pr…

(a) The commission, in addition to the powers and duties expressly granted by this part, is authorized and empowered to petition a circuit or chancery court having jurisdiction to enjoin a person who is performing any of the actions specified in this part without possessing a val…

The division of TennCare or its successor, by the fifteenth of each month, shall submit to the chairs of the finance, ways and means committees of the senate and the house of representatives and to the office of legislative budget analysis a statement reflecting the estimated imp…

(a) The commissioner of health shall provide the commission with aggregate data from the hospital discharge database and ambulatory surgical treatment center discharge database within seven (7) business days from the commissioner's receipt of a request. The information must inclu…

(a) The commission has the power and authority, after notice and an opportunity for a hearing, to impose a civil monetary penalty against a person who performs, offers to perform, or holds such person out as performing an activity for which a certificate of need is required, with…

(1) In addition to other grounds for revocation provided by other statutes, rule of law, or equity, the commission has the power to revoke a certificate of need whenever the following has occurred:(1) The holder of a certificate of need has not made substantial and timely progres…

(a) Except as provided in this section, the transfer of a certificate of need renders the certificate of need and all rights under it void. As used in this section, “transfer” means the sale, assignment, lease, conveyance, purchase, grant, donation, gift, or other direct or indir…

(a) During each fiscal year after June 30, 2020, until June 30, 2029, the commission shall not issue certificates of need for new nursing home beds, including the conversion of hospital beds to nursing home beds or swing beds, other than one hundred twenty-five (125) beds per fis…

(a) Fees and civil penalties authorized by the certificate of need program established by this part must be paid by the health facilities commission or the collecting agency to the state treasurer and deposited in the state general fund and credited to a separate account for the …

At a hearing conducted by the commission for a certificate of need application, if a local governing body requests to participate in the hearing, then the officials of the local governing body may appear before the commission and express support or opposition to the granting of a…

(a) There is created the state health planning division of the department of health. It is the purpose of the planning division to create a state health plan that is evaluated and updated at least annually. The plan guides the state in the development of healthcare programs and p…

(a) A replacement facility application is an application that proposes to replace one (1) or more currently licensed nursing homes with one (1) single licensed nursing home. (b) An application or portion of a replacement facility application that does not increase the number of l…

(1) With regard to a healthcare facility that has been the subject of a change of control as defined by regulation, the health facilities commission may issue a new license to the successor owner. The use of this authority is limited to circumstances where:(1) The successor owner…

(a) In consultation with the department of health, the department of mental health and substance abuse services, and the department of disability and aging, and subject to § 68-11-1609(h), the commission shall develop by rule measures for assessing quality for entities that, on o…

(a) Notwithstanding this part, a certificate of need is not required for the establishment of a hospital licensed under this title if:(1) The hospital was previously licensed under this title or another hospital was previously licensed under this title at the proposed location;(2…

All administrative rules in effect on July 1, 2022, that were promulgated by the board for licensing healthcare facilities while attached to the department of health are transferred to the health facilities commission on July 1, 2022.

(a) The health facilities commission shall create a plan to study, for at least six (6) years, the impact of certificate of need reform and facilities licensure in the healthcare industry. The health facilities commission shall submit such plan to the speaker of the senate, the s…

(a) The general assembly finds that:(1) A disabled volunteer may be able to provide assistance in improving the services provided by Tennessee's nursing homes; and(2) The use of a disabled volunteer in a nursing home could greatly benefit the volunteer as well. (1) A disabled vol…