Tenn. Code Ann. § 68-11-816: Time for paying or contesting penalty — Waiver.

(a) Five (5) working days after the nursing home's actual receipt of either the department's detailed statement of the type B or type C penalty required by § 68-11-814, or the commissioner's order suspending admissions to the nursing home and assessing a type A penalty, the nursing home shall either pay the penalty assessed or file with the administrative procedures division of the secretary of state and with the department an answer, demanding a contested case hearing.

(b) Should the nursing home fail to answer or to demand a hearing within five (5) working days of its actual receipt of the department's notice, it shall be deemed to have waived its right to a hearing, to have admitted the allegations of the assessment, and the civil penalty assessed shall then be due and payable.

(c) (1) Should the nursing home pay the penalty assessed on or before the day upon which its answer is due, the amount of the penalty shall be reduced by ten percent (10%).

(2) Such payment may be made under protest while contesting the assessment; and, if the case is dismissed and the penalty abated, the payment under protest shall be returned to the nursing home.