Committee advances 'patient's first' insurance bill limiting unreviewed AI denials and creating oversight commission

Representative Hall, sponsor of House Bill 2,619, told the Insurance Committee the measure is ‘‘the patient's first bill’’ and said it seeks ‘‘fairness, transparency, accountability and health insurance.’’ He explained the amended bill would require that “a qualified health provider must review and approve any AI based denial” and would prohibit sending a claimant's medical information outside the United States for claim review.

Hall argued the legislation is aimed at correcting payment disparities and stopping what he described as insurer practices amounting to medical decision-making. He cited a TennCare fiscal note of $138,000,000 tied to a provision on reimbursement equity and said the amendment attached to the bill removed that portion of the fiscal note while leaving most reforms intact. ‘‘Patients deserve medical decisions made by qualified professionals and not AI algorithms, which is happening now,’’ Hall said.

Members raised questions about TennCare's role and the fiscal note. Representative Parkinson asked whether TennCare would testify; committee members noted the department had not made itself available earlier in the hearing. Supporters stressed rural impacts, with sponsors citing hospitals and providers in their districts owed tens of millions in disputed payments.

The committee called the question and voted. The clerk reported 16 ayes, no nays; House Bill 2,619 passed the Insurance Committee and was referred to the Government Operations Committee. The committee record shows the action as a standard committee passage; no individual roll-call names were read into the record beyond the final tally.