NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WJHL) – A proposed bill named for a deceased Hawkins County child is closer to becoming law.
House Bill 1429 and Senate Bill 925, known collectively as “Quinnlee’s Law,” were both presented to committees Wednesday afternoon in Nashville.
Both the House Health Committee and Senate Health and Welfare Committee passed the bills unanimously.
Rep. Gary Hicks (R-Rogersville) and Sen. John Lundberg (R-Bristol) presented the bills to their respective committees. Both bills passed with amendments and were recommended for passage on the House and Senate floors. They were recommended to calendar committees for scheduling.
Quinnlee’s Law would allow out-of-state medical equipment to be provided without the provider maintaining a physical place of business in Tennessee.
1-year-old Quinnlee Mae Shriner of Mount Carmel passed away in February after battling a rare genetic disorder that kept her from breathing on her own. Quinnlee’s family was able to bring her home for the holidays after lengthy hospital stays, but her return home was delayed due to state law preventing them from acquiring a piece of medical equipment manufactured outside of Tennessee.
In the Senate Health and Welfare Committee, Sen. Joey Hensley (R-Hohenwald) asked Lundberg for clarification on what the bill would allow out-of-state providers to do. Lundberg responded by saying the bill would require providers to still be licensed by the state health department and would likely only be applicable in “anomaly” cases like Quinnlee’s.
In the House Health Committee, Rep. Ron Travis (R-Dayton) commended Hicks for bringing the bill before them and called it “one great bill.”
Hicks told the committee that he had been contacted by Quinnlee’s father, who informed him of her passing in February.
