Tennessee House Bill HB2562

Tennessee 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 2/3/26
• Refer: 2/5/26
• Refer: 3/18/26
• Refer: 3/31/26
• Chaptered: 5/5/26
• Passed: 5/5/26

Caption

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 63, Chapter 6 and Title 63, Chapter 9, relative to continuing education requirements.

Summary

HB2562 amends Tennessee’s medical licensing laws to require physicians and osteopathic physicians to complete at least one hour of continuing education on nutrition. The nutrition hour must be part of the existing continuing medical education or continuing osteopathic medical education requirements, and a licensee only has to complete that nutrition requirement once. The bill also requires that the nutrition-related course be available free of charge to physicians. The nutrition continuing education requirement is temporary and is set to expire on January 1, 2033. The bill authorizes the Board of Medical Examiners and the Board of Osteopathic Examination to adopt rules, including emergency rules if needed, to implement the new requirement. The act takes effect immediately for rulemaking purposes, but otherwise becomes effective January 1, 2028.

Impact

The bill adds new subsections to Tennessee Code Annotated sections 63-6-233 and 63-9-107, which govern continuing education for physicians and osteopathic physicians. It creates a mandatory nutrition-focused CME/COE hour within the state licensing framework, while also limiting the burden by requiring the course to be free and only completed once. The measure affects licensed physicians, osteopathic physicians, the Board of Medical Examiners, and the Board of Osteopathic Examination, and it gives those boards authority to promulgate implementing rules under the Uniform Administrative Procedures Act.

Sentiment

The available voting history suggests broad support for the bill. It advanced out of the House Health Subcommittee 6-0 and the House Health Committee 21-0, indicating no recorded opposition in committee. No committee transcripts were provided, so there is no detailed discussion record, but the unanimous votes point to a generally favorable view of the proposal.

Contention

There is little visible contention in the available record. The main policy choices are the mandate that nutrition training be required, the condition that it be free of charge, and the sunset date in 2033. Any potential concerns would likely center on whether the added continuing education requirement creates administrative burden for licensing boards or practitioners, but the committee votes show no recorded disagreement on those points.