Health Facilities Commission seeks $1.8 million to clear nursing‑home inspection backlog; deadline extended
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Summary
The Senate Finance Committee heard SB 2431, a Health Facilities Commission cleanup bill that includes extending the deadline for required nursing‑home inspections to Dec. 31, 2028, and HFC representative Katie Thomas said the agency is requesting a one‑time $1.8 million budget item to hire contractors and reduce the backlog by an estimated 25–50%.
The Tennessee Senate Finance, Ways and Means Committee on April 8 heard SB 2431, a package of technical and regulatory changes for the Health Facilities Commission that also addresses a backlog of nursing‑home surveys.
Sponsor Senator Jackson said the bill transfers certain oversight duties to the Health Facilities Commission, updates licensing statutes, narrows exemptions, and authorizes emergency rule‑making with an effective date of July 1, 2026. He told the committee the bill also "extends from 01/01/2027 to 12/31/2028 the date by which the Health Facilities Commission must ensure that each licensed nursing home in the state has been inspected within the preceding 15 months." The extension appears in the fiscal note and sparked follow‑up questions from members.
Katie Thomas, who identified herself to the committee as a representative of the Health Facilities Commission, said inspectors are overworked and the agency is experiencing staffing shortages. "My name is Katie Thomas. I'm with the Health Facilities Commission," she said. "We're requesting $1,800,000, one time fee in the budget, that would help alleviate about 25 to 50% of this backlog, by hiring contractors." Thomas told senators that while immediate‑jeopardy complaints would still prompt investigations, the Commission is uncertain about the quality of care at facilities that have not been surveyed within 15 months.
Committee members pressed for more detail about the size of the backlog, how long surveys take and whether federal penalties could attach. Thomas said surveys can take "anywhere from a couple days to a week or two, just depending on how the survey goes" and that she did not have the number of facilities not surveyed within 15 months on hand. She told the committee the Commission is operating under a plan of correction with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and is contracting with private survey organizations; the $1.8 million request would expand contractor use.
Senators said they wanted the director of the Health Facilities Commission present to answer outstanding questions and to provide hard numbers. Chairman Watson and the sponsor agreed to move the bill to next week's calendar so the director could appear; the sponsor supported that plan.
What happens next: The committee agreed to hold SB 2431 for one week to allow the Health Facilities Commission director to brief members and to provide data on the backlog, the number of homes affected, and implementation details for contractors. The hearing record includes the Commission's request for a $1.8 million one‑time appropriation to reduce the backlog and the extension of the inspection deadline to Dec. 31, 2028.
Sources: Testimony by Senator Jackson and Health Facilities Commission representative Katie Thomas to the Senate Finance Committee on April 8, 2026.
