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Bill would bar TennCare coverage for identity-related procedures; committee sends bill to full insurance panel
Summary
Representative Capli's bill would prohibit TennCare from covering medical procedures intended to enable or affirm an identity inconsistent with an individual's sex; legal counsel said current law limits some prohibitions to minors, while this bill would apply to TennCare for all ages and includes limited exceptions for procedures begun before the act's effective date.
Representative Capli presented House Bill 2489 to the TennCare Subcommittee, saying the measure would bar TennCare from providing coverage or reimbursement for medical procedures performed “for the purpose of enabling an individual to identify with, live as, or… live as a purported identity inconsistent with the individual” or to treat distress from that discordance. "This closes a loophole in the law right now," the sponsor said.
Legal counsel Levin Crutchfield told the committee the existing statutory prohibition applies to minors and to providers generally, but this bill would specifically prohibit TennCare from covering such procedures for people of any age. Counsel also said the bill would not violate the prohibition for procedures that began before the act’s effective date and conclude on or before March 31, 2027, per subdivision c(1)(B). Representative Capli said the measure exempts treatment for congenital conditions and procedures to treat physical injury or disease.
Committee members asked for specifics about which services would be affected and how the bill’s language would interact with current code sections (the sponsor referenced "71 chapter 5 part 1"). After brief debate and a call of the previous question, the subcommittee voted to send the bill to the full insurance committee. The clerk recorded the vote as five ayes and one nay.
The bill’s text, legal counsel’s reading of existing law as limited to minors, the exception for procedures already begun, and the vote are all recorded in the committee’s transcript.
