2025 Legislative Activities

First the good bills:

TNAAP introduced a bill (HB760/SB817 by Rep. Tandy Darby and Sen. Adam Lowe) allowing schools to keep emergency stock albuterol inhalers. This potentially lifesaving legislation will allow schools to keep albuterol on hand for emergency situations when a child may not have a previous asthma diagnosis, does not have an inhaler at school, or does not have a school medication form on file. It passed unanimously with bipartisan support and was signed by the Governor on May 2.

TNAAP was able to support a grass roots movement called Say Yes to Recess getting a bill  (HB85/SB158 by Rep. Scott Cepicky and Sen. Joey Hensley) passed that will increase exercise in kids. Elementary schools will now be required to provide students with 60 minutes of daily physical activity. It was signed into law by Governor Lee and will go into effect July 1, 2025.

Bad bills:

TNAAP fought hard against a physician gag order bill (HB387/SB474 by Rep. Ed Butler and Sen. Janice Bowling) that would have prohibited physicians from discussing firearm safety with patients. Through grassroots advocacy, discussions during Day on the Hill, testimony in committee hearings, and direct lobbying, this bill was ultimately put off until next year’s legislative session.

Another bill (HB638/SB1389 by Rep. Michele Carringer and Sen. Bo Watson) that required a tremendous amount of effort to fight would prohibit physicians who accept TennCare from turning away patients based on their vaccination status. TNAAP and others were able to amend this bill in the House to include exceptions to the prohibition for physicians who see patients who are immunocompromised. This bill made it all the way to both the House and Senate floors. However the House and Senate could not agree on the amendment excluding doctors that see immunocompromised patients, delaying further discussion on the bill until next year’s legislative session.

THANK YOU to those of you who responded to our “calls to action” regarding these two bills! Your calls and emails made an impact and helped us stop these!

Other efforts and notes:

Although the above mentioned bills took up an enormous amount of our time and effort this legislative session, TNAAP’s Legislative Committee, Members, and lobbyists also fought to kill a number of bills that would directly affect pediatricians and child health – a potential ban on fluoride in our water supply, unsupervised prescribing authorization for psychologists, and numerous anti-vaccine related bills, and we advocated for bills ranging from increasing counsellors in schools to providing free school breakfast and lunch for all TN children.

Another hot topic has been Medicaid payment parity. Medicaid payment parity with increasing TennCare reimbursement rates has been a priority for TNAAP and is gaining traction with specialists and primary doctors of all medical fields throughout the state. TNAAP was able to meet with executive committees from various TN state medical organizations, compile data on member experiences and their plans for future TennCare patients and meet with TennCare’s Director Stephen Smith to share the concerns of our members. Although the current political environment in Washington has everyone concerned about various forms of Medicaid cuts, we continue to work with the Tennessee Medical Association and other specialty and primary care state organizations to fight for Medicaid payment parity.

As always, every legislative session brings a new set of challenges and threats, both to us and to our patients. This year has been no different and we expect next year to be more of the same. Although it is too early to know, a few topics we expect to come up next year include repeated efforts to ban doctors from asking about firearm safety, efforts to force physicians to see non-vaccinating patients even if it puts other patients at risk, a renewed fight for independent practice for advanced practice providers, and various anti-vaccine bills. If you get a chance, please take time to thank any members of the legislative committee or members that have met with legislators or testified at committee hearings for all of their hard work over the last several months. TNAAP is you and you are TNAAP, and we need your help. Join us at a board meeting or join us for committee meetings. Reach out to your legislators. Let your voices be heard. And always, if you have any questions, would like more information, or are interested in getting involved, please do not hesitate to reach out to us.