Senate committee advances bill to cover genetic cancer testing for state plan enrollees after fiscal questions
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Summary
The committee approved amendments to SB1626 to provide evidence‑based genetic testing for cancer‑related genes to Tennessee state plan enrollees, eliminate out‑of‑pocket costs in the amendment as drafted, and moved the bill to the Finance Committee after the Department of Finance and Administration flagged a roughly $2.9 million fiscal impact for 100% state payment.
NASHVILLE — The Senate Commerce and Labor Committee on Wednesday advanced SB1626, a bill to provide clinical genetic testing for certain cancer‑related genes to enrollees in the Tennessee state health plan and to eliminate out‑of‑pocket costs for eligible patients.
Chairman Briggs, the bill sponsor, told the committee the measure is intended to deliver "vital information to patients with breast cancer, their family members, and medical providers" and to enable targeted prevention and treatment strategies. He said the bill, as amended, applies only to state employees and that clinical guidelines would follow evidence‑based recommendations.
During the hearing, Jonathan Springer, director of legislation for the Department of Finance and Administration, told the committee the department had placed a flag on the bill because the amendment prohibits the usual cost‑sharing (currently an 80/20 split) and would require the state to pay 100 percent of clinical genetic testing costs under the state plan. "Normally, we would have an 80/20 cost sharing, but this would put all 100% onto the state to pay for," Springer said and noted a fiscal note of about $2.9 million.
Committee members asked whether reverting to an 80/20 split would make the department supportive; Springer said he would need to review that with his team and that prohibiting cost sharing is central to the amendment's purpose. Chairman Briggs argued the change is a benefit to state employees, not an insurance mandate on outside carriers.
The committee adopted two amendments — one that makes the bill and a second that changes the effective date to Jan. 1, 2027 — and voted to move the measure to the Finance Committee for further consideration. The department's fiscal concerns were recorded on the hearing record; no final funding or implementation language was adopted in committee.
What's next: SB1626 goes to the Finance Committee where the fiscal impact and any cost‑sharing compromise would likely be resolved.