Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Health It Lab Results topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
House Insurance Committee approves bill repealing 72-hour lab-result hold and aligning API deadline with CMS
Summary
The committee approved House Bill 869 to undo a 72-hour hold on certain lab tests from last year's electronic health record law and to align insurance API deadlines with Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) implementation dates through 2027. The vote was 14-0.
The House Insurance Committee on April 8 approved House Bill 869 to amend last year's electronic health record law by repealing a 72-hour hold on certain laboratory tests and aligning the deadline for insurers to implement application programming interfaces (APIs) with Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) implementation dates.
"This bill fixes the . . . issue by repealing the 72 hour hold on certain lab tests, and we make sure that Tennesseeans receive their lab results in a timely manner without unintended government delays," Representative Rutter said, describing the bill as a corrective measure for unintended consequences of the prior law.
The bill sponsor told the committee the 72-hour requirement had created a bottleneck for diagnostic companies trying to comply with Tennessee's unique rule. "Tennessee is the only state that required 72 hour hold on lab tests and this has unintentionally created a bottleneck in lab results for diagnostic companies," Representative Rutter said.
Representative Rutter also said the bill clarifies the deadline for insurers to create and maintain APIs required to facilitate patient and provider access to health information, moving the schedule to align with CMS dates. A committee member asked whether the sponsor intended the bill to require APIs to be operational by 2027 even if CMS later extended its timeline; Representative Rutter replied that it was his intention that the APIs be brought online by 2027.
Committee members were not recorded as proposing amendments during the hearing. The clerk recorded a roll-call vote of 14 ayes and 0 nays; the committee chair announced the bill passed and was to move on to calendar and rules. Representatives at the hearing said the bill had previously cleared the Health Committee and had been carried last year by Representative Vaughn; Representative Rutter said Senator Reeves had already passed companion action in the Senate.
The committee's action is procedural in this committee and follows prior floor or committee activity; the bill text ties implementation of the API requirement to CMS implementation dates rather than a fixed state-only deadline and repeals the specific 72-hour lab-result hold included in last year's law.
