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HB2278 • 2026

Public Health

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 9; Title 49; Title 53; Title 55 and Title 68, relative to public health.

Healthcare
Active

The official status still shows this bill as active or still awaiting another formal step.

Sponsor
Faison, Watson
Last action
2026-04-06
Official status
Comp. SB subst.
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The official source material does not provide specific details about the content or format of the report beyond federal benefits and grants.

Public Health Reporting Act

This bill requires Tennessee's Department of Health to report annually on federal benefits and grants received for maternal and infant health programs.

What This Bill Does

  • Requires the Tennessee Department of Health to send a yearly report by February 1st to specific committees in both houses of the state legislature.

Who It Names or Affects

  • Tennessee Department of Health
  • State legislators in the Senate and House committees responsible for public health

Limits and Unknowns

  • The bill does not specify the exact details of how the report should be formatted or what information must be included beyond federal benefits and grants.
  • It is unclear if there are any penalties for failing to comply with this reporting requirement.

Amendments

These notes stay tied to the official amendment files and metadata from the legislature.

Amendment 1-0 to HB2278

Plain English: The amendment changes how pricing restrictions for hospitals are handled after June 30, 2028, and allows new acute care hospitals to open without certain certificates in specific areas.

  • Certificates of public advantage that exist by June 30, 2028, will automatically expire but their pricing restrictions will continue until a new hospital opens or five years later, whichever comes first.
  • After the expiration date, the attorney general and reporter must supervise any remaining pricing restrictions, which can only be changed with mutual agreement between the hospital entity and the attorney general's office.
  • New acute care hospitals in areas where certificates of public advantage have expired do not need to get a certificate of need.
  • The amendment text does not specify how pricing restrictions will be enforced or modified after June 30, 2028, beyond the supervision by the attorney general and reporter.
Amendment 1-0 to SB2414

Plain English: The amendment changes how pricing restrictions in certificates of public advantage will be handled after June 30, 2028.

  • Certificates of public advantage that are active on June 30, 2028, will automatically expire but their pricing restrictions will continue until the earlier of five years later or when a new inpatient acute care hospital opens in the same area.
  • After expiration, the attorney general and reporter will supervise the pricing restrictions, which can only be changed by mutual agreement between the entity under the restrictions and the attorney general.
  • The amendment does not specify what happens if a new hospital doesn't open within five years.
  • It's unclear how existing certificates of public advantage will transition to this new supervision model.

Bill History

  1. 2026-04-13 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Message Calendar for 4/15/2026

  2. 2026-04-13 Tennessee General Assembly

    Senate Reset on calendar for 4/15/2026

  3. 2026-04-10 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Message Calendar for 4/13/2026

  4. 2026-04-09 Tennessee General Assembly

    Senate Reset on calendar for 4/13/2026

  5. 2026-04-07 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Message Calendar for 4/9/2026

  6. 2026-04-06 Tennessee General Assembly

    Comp. SB subst.

  7. 2026-04-06 Tennessee General Assembly

    Passed H., as am., Ayes 79, Nays 14, PNV 0

  8. 2026-04-06 Tennessee General Assembly

    H. adopted am. (Amendment 1 - HA0936)

  9. 2026-04-06 Tennessee General Assembly

    Subst. for comp. HB.

  10. 2026-04-02 Tennessee General Assembly

    H. Placed on Regular Calendar for 4/6/2026

  11. 2026-04-02 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  12. 2026-04-01 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on cal. Calendar & Rules Committee for 4/2/2026

  13. 2026-03-31 Tennessee General Assembly

    Rec. for pass. if am., ref. to Calendar & Rules Committee

  14. 2026-03-30 Tennessee General Assembly

    Rcvd. from S., held on H. desk.

  15. 2026-03-26 Tennessee General Assembly

    Engrossed; ready for transmission to House

  16. 2026-03-26 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  17. 2026-03-26 Tennessee General Assembly

    Passed Senate as amended, Ayes 33, Nays 0

  18. 2026-03-26 Tennessee General Assembly

    Senate adopted Amendment (Amendment 1 - SA0777)

  19. 2026-03-25 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on cal. Health Committee for 3/31/2026

  20. 2026-03-25 Tennessee General Assembly

    Rec for pass if am by s/c ref. to Health Committee

  21. 2026-03-24 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Regular Calendar for 3/26/2026

  22. 2026-03-18 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on s/c cal Health Subcommittee for 3/25/2026

  23. 2026-03-18 Tennessee General Assembly

    Action Def. in s/c Health Subcommittee to 3/25/2026

  24. 2026-03-18 Tennessee General Assembly

    Recommended for passage with amendment/s, refer to Senate Calendar Committee Ayes 9, Nays 0 PNV 0

  25. 2026-03-17 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  26. 2026-03-17 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor change.

  27. 2026-03-17 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Health and Welfare Committee calendar for 3/18/2026

  28. 2026-03-17 Tennessee General Assembly

    Action deferred in Senate Health and Welfare Committee to 3/18/2026

  29. 2026-03-16 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  30. 2026-03-11 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on s/c cal Health Subcommittee for 3/18/2026

  31. 2026-03-11 Tennessee General Assembly

    Action Def. in s/c Health Subcommittee to 3/18/2026

  32. 2026-03-11 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Health and Welfare Committee calendar for 3/17/2026

  33. 2026-03-11 Tennessee General Assembly

    Action deferred in Senate Health and Welfare Committee to 3/18/2026

  34. 2026-03-09 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on s/c cal Health Subcommittee for 3/11/2026

  35. 2026-03-09 Tennessee General Assembly

    Assigned to s/c Health Subcommittee

  36. 2026-03-09 Tennessee General Assembly

    Ref. to Health Committee

  37. 2026-03-09 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  38. 2026-03-04 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Health and Welfare Committee calendar for 3/11/2026

  39. 2026-02-05 Tennessee General Assembly

    P2C, caption bill, held on desk - pending amdt.

  40. 2026-02-05 Tennessee General Assembly

    Passed on Second Consideration, refer to Senate Health and Welfare Committee

  41. 2026-02-04 Tennessee General Assembly

    Intro., P1C.

  42. 2026-02-02 Tennessee General Assembly

    Filed for introduction

  43. 2026-02-02 Tennessee General Assembly

    Introduced, Passed on First Consideration

  44. 2026-02-02 Tennessee General Assembly

    Filed for introduction

Official Summary Text

ON MARCH 26, 2026, THE SENATE ADOPTED AMENDMENT #1 AND PASSED SENATE BILL 2414, AS AMENDED.

AMENDMENT #1 rewrites the bill to, instead, provide that any certificate of public advantage in effect on June 30, 2028, automatically expires. However, any pricing restrictions in a certificate of advantage remain in effect until the fifth anniversary
of the expiration date or the date that a new inpatient acute care hospital opens in the geographic service area, whichever is earlier. After June 30, 2028, the attorney general must supervise any pricing restrictions still in effect, and the pricing res
tr
ictions may only be modified by the mutual written agreement of the attorney general and the entity subject to the restrictions.

Present law authorizes a hospital to negotiate and enter into cooperative agreements with other hospitals in this state, if the likely benefits resulting from the agreements outweigh any disadvantages attributable to a reduction in competition that may r
esult from the agreements. Parties to such an agreement may apply to the department of health for a certificate of public advantage governing that cooperative agreement.

ON APRIL 6, 2026, THE HOUSE SUBSTITUTED SENATE BILL 2414 FOR HOUSE BILL 2278, ADOPTED AMENDMENT #1, AND PASSED SENATE BILL 2414, AS AMENDED.

AMENDMENT #1 clarifies that an acute care hospital in the same geographical area that a certificate of public advantage expired pursuant to the bill is not required to obtain a certificate of need.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
SENATE BILL 2414
By Watson

HOUSE BILL 2278
By Faison
HB2278
012722
- 1 -

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 9;
Title 49; Title 53; Title 55 and Title 68, relative to
public health.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 68-1-106, is amended by adding the
following as a new subsection:
(c) By February 1 of each year, the department of health shall report to the
chairs of the senate health and welfare committee and the committee in the house of
representatives with jurisdiction over public health programs concerning the benefits and
grants received by this state as described in this section.
SECTION 2. This act takes effect July 1, 2026, the public welfare requiring it.