Public Hearings and/or Comments
Public Comments are requested for the following Items:
Technical Advisory Groups Recommendations
Effective December 1, 2025, Public Chapter 985 removes the Certificate of Need (CON) requirements for Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICU), Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), Positron Emission Tomography (PET), and Burn Units and transitions those project types into the licensure program with quality requirements. HFC solicited experts on a voluntary basis in the field of imaging, neonatal intensive care, and burn care to create Technical Advisory Group (TAG) recommendations for guidance in the development and incorporation of quality regulations into the licensure process. Below are the final recommendations of those technical advisory groups.
Received Public Comments on Burn Care
Received Public Comments on NICUs
Received Public Comments on MRI and PET
The public comment period that began on January 31, 2025, and ended at the close of business February 14, 2025, is now Closed For Comments. Please send your comments to HSDA.Staff@tn.gov. Please clearly indicate in your email which technical advisory group recommendations you are providing comments.
Rulemaking Process
There will be a period reserved for public comment prior to posting the proposed rules to the Commission's website on February 12, 2025. The proposed rules can be located under the Commission Meeting Materials (Click Here for Draft Rules for Burn Units) The Commission members will consider the Burn Unit Care rules at the February 26, 2025 Commission meeting. The Commission will consider whether to green-light the initiation of the rulemaking process to adopt the Technical Advisory Group's recommendations at that time.
The rulemaking process is time-consuming, and includes the following:
• A Notice of Rulemaking must be filed with the Secretary or Secretary of State's office, 52 days in advance prior to the Rulemaking Hearing.
• Written and a summary of oral comments from the Rulemaking Hearing will be presented to the Commission; the Commission will consider these and either approve, approve with minor revisions, or disapprove the Proposed Rules (Criteria & Standards must be adopted as rules, per law).
• Rulemaking Rules must be submitted to the Attorney General's Office for review; changes may be directed by the AG's office to comply with law, after which Commission staff submits revised Rulemaking Rules for review.
• Rulemaking Rules approved by the Attorney General are submitted by Commission staff to the Secretary of State's office for a 90 day posting period.
• Rules become effective after the 90 day posting.
• The Joint Government Operations Committee will review the rules, and could instruct that changes must be made.
This process tends to take six months or more, so it is important to initiate the process shortly after the Commission's February 26, 2025 meeting.