Sen. London Lamar
Health-related legislation did not draw as much public interest and protest this year as it has in previous sessions of the Tennessee General Assembly. But a few bills that passed show lawmakers’ interests and make incremental changes.
Rep. Michele Carringer (R-Knoxville) brought a bill that would require medical providers accepting TennCare to treat patients who are unvaccinated, citing “medical discrimination against families choosing not to vaccinate in Tennessee.” The bill raised concerns on both sides of the aisle that babies who are not yet vaccinated or children who are not fit for vaccination could be affected. Carringer claims there is “no way to avoid” sickness. During the legislative session, Middle Tennessee’s measles count reached at least six cases, as confirmed by the Tennessee Department of Health.
A bill from Sen. London Lamar (D-Memphis), which would direct the Department of Health to provide a process by which doulas can be certified to be covered by TennCare, was rolled to the 2026 session. But Lamar was successful in partnering with Rep. Caleb Hemmer (D-Nashville) to pass legislation that would require hospitals to provide information on postpartum warning signs.
At the end of the session, Gov. Bill Lee signed a bill into law that allows physicians to refuse care to individuals if it violates — per the legislation’s language — their “conscience.” The legislation, called the Medical Ethics Defense Act, was linked to abortion care, gender-affirming care and euthanasia in committees, and was written by conservative Christian legal advocacy group Alliance Defending Freedom. Lee also signed a bill that clarifies the definition of “serious risk of substantial and irreversible impairment of major bodily function” under Tennessee’s abortion ban. The bill did not add any exceptions, but instead lists the conditions under which an abortion could be considered legal under Tennessee law.
A failed bill from Rep. Esther Helton-Haynes (R-East Ridge) and Sen. Richard Briggs (R-Knoxville) would have allowed abortions in cases of lethal fetal anomalies — fetuses with complications so severe that they could not sustain life outside of the womb. A bill from Rep. Gino Bulso (R-Brentwood) that would have heightened civil penalties for companies or people who distribute mifepristone for the purpose of a medication abortion stalled during the session as well.
Senate Minority Leader Raumesh Akbari (D-Memphis) introduced a bill to protect the existing rights to in vitro fertilization and hormonal birth control, which failed. But a similar effort from Sen. Becky Massey (R-Knoxville) and Rep. Iris Rudder (R-Winchester) was successful, enshrining access to fertility care and contraception into law. Another bill involving IVF — which would have, in part, limited the genetic testing of embryos — failed after lengthy debate.
At least two bills took aim at the World Health Organization following President Donald Trump’s condemnation of the agency. Gov. Lee signed a bill that cuts out the WHO from the process of responding to a pandemic. A second bill, which prohibits the “enforcement and recognition of requirements or mandates issued by the World Health Organization, United Nations, or World Economic Forum,” also passed.
A bipartisan bill providing a path for families to be paid under TennCare to care for their families passed this year. The bill aims to address a caregiver shortage for people in the state’s home- and community-based services programming for seniors and those with disabilities. Similarly, a successful bill would create an advisory task force to continue study of reimbursement rates for the providers serving those on state support, including the CHOICES program for seniors and those with disabilities, in an effort to adequately pay direct support staff across the state.
The good, the bad and the ugly from the 2025 session of the Tennessee General Assembly
