Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Medicaid Coverage topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Committee advances bill limiting TennCare reimbursement for gender-transition treatments with narrow exceptions
Summary
Senate Bill 2118 would bar TennCare reimbursement for transgender reassignment or gender-transition treatments except for certain congenital defects and specified medical exceptions; sponsors said it limits taxpayer coverage while opponents argued it restricts adult medical decisions. The committee advanced the bill to the calendar after debate.
Senate Bill 2118, sponsored by Senator Lowe, would remove TennCare reimbursement for treatment or care related to transgender reassignment or gender transitioning, while preserving coverage where treatment addresses congenital defects, precocious puberty, disease or physical injury.
Sponsor argued the bill "prevents the taxpayers from paying for it," emphasizing the state's prerogative to define TennCare's scope: "What it prevents is the taxpayers from paying for it." Opponents warned the measure restricts adults' ability to make medical decisions and flagged potential statutory and constitutional questions about limiting coverage for adult care. Senator Yarbrough and others urged caution, saying the proposal is not the same as prior statutes addressing minors and that it inserts coverage limits into Medicaid code.
Legal counsel and association witnesses later noted that enforcement mechanisms under health-facilities statute could lead to survey-based compliance actions; the committee approved the bill and moved it to the calendar.
