Health Facilities Commission extension advances after audit finding on surveyor capacity

The Senate Government Operations Committee voted unanimously to advance SB1522, extending the Health Facilities Commission for four years after agency testimony about capacity challenges and corrective actions.

Logan Grant, executive director of the Health Facilities Commission, told senators that a recent Comptroller performance audit identified the commission's difficulty keeping pace with recertification surveys and complaint investigations because of increases in workload driven by federal changes and workforce shortages. Grant said the commission submitted a corrective action plan and is preparing a study for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) proposing regulatory flexibilities to improve efficiency without additional resources. "We're pursuing every possible means to do more with the resources that we have," Grant said, and pledged to release the report to CMS and publicly by the end of the month.

Grant and senators discussed rural facility support; Chairman Jackson credited West Tennessee regional staff for helping reopen a hospital in Perry County. The motion to move SB1522 to the calendar passed by unanimous voice vote. The committee recorded no immediate budget increases; the commission said it will seek procedural flexibility from CMS and continue corrective steps.

The hearing transcript does not include CMS responses or commitments; the commission's report and CMS's reply would determine whether procedural flexibilities are granted.