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Committee adopts Shield Act amendment to protect pediatric providers from vaccination-denominator penalties
Summary
SB 20 70 (the Shield Act) would require managed care organizations to exclude patients who decline vaccines for documented exemptions from vaccination-rate denominators used in quality measures; a Witness testified the change aligns state practice with federal guidance and avoids penalizing pediatricians. The amendment passed and the bill moved to the calendar.
Chairman Watson and the sponsor framed SB 20 70 as a technical correction to prevent pediatric providers from being financially penalized when families document vaccine exemptions. Witness Drew Schonaker, who said he worked on the legislation, told the committee the change aligns Tennessee with recent federal guidance and protects clinic margins: "The Shield Act provides a precise structural fix... This corrects the math, protects the clinic's operating margin, and keeps their doors open."
Schonaker and the sponsor said the change is not a debate over vaccines but a contractual fix to outdated MCO terms that still count exempt patients in provider-quality denominators; the committee adopted the amendment and sent the bill to the calendar with eight ayes and one pass.
