AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 4; Title 63 and Title 68, relative to reportable diseases.
Summary
HB0383 requires the Tennessee commissioner of health to add alpha-gal syndrome to the Department of Health’s published list of reportable diseases and conditions by July 1, 2025. Once listed, healthcare providers will be required to report occurrences of the condition to the department under existing administrative reporting rules.
The bill is narrowly focused on public health surveillance rather than treatment or insurance coverage. Its practical effect is to make alpha-gal syndrome a tracked condition in Tennessee, which can improve data collection, monitoring of cases, and the state’s ability to assess trends and public health responses related to the illness.
Impact
The bill amends Tennessee law governing reportable diseases and conditions under Titles 4, 63, and 68 by directing the health commissioner to include alpha-gal syndrome on the state’s reportable list. This creates a reporting obligation for healthcare providers and expands the Department of Health’s disease surveillance responsibilities, but does not itself create new penalties, benefits, or treatment mandates for patients.
Sentiment
The bill appears to have been broadly supported and noncontroversial. It passed the House Health Subcommittee, House Health Committee, and House floor on unanimous or near-unanimous votes, including 9-0, 22-0, and 92-0, and then passed the Senate floor motion 32-0. The voting history suggests strong bipartisan agreement that alpha-gal syndrome should be tracked as a reportable condition.
Contention
No significant opposition is reflected in the available record. The main policy question implicit in the bill is whether alpha-gal syndrome should be added to the state’s reportable disease list, which would impose reporting duties on healthcare providers and increase state surveillance. However, the committee and floor votes indicate that any concerns about administrative burden or scope were not enough to generate recorded dissent.