Legislative Issues & Updates

A central part of TMA’s advocacy mission is state-level government relations, and the advocacy team works with state lawmakers and other organizations to achieve members’ legislative priorities as defined by the Legislative Committee, Board of Trustees and House of Delegates. In 2019, TMA was named the most influential advocacy organization on Capitol Hill. Our lobbyists review hundreds of bills each year to identify measures that promote or threaten good healthcare policies, and then organize member physicians and organizations to help carry TMA’s support or opposition.

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2021 Legislative Priorities

To download a PDF of our 2021 Legislative Report Card, click here. 

SCOPE OF PRACTICE 
TMA continues to fight inappropriate scope of practice expansion by mid- level healthcare providers. Our strong advocacy has defeated APRNs and PAs' attempts to change state laws toward achieve independent practice. TMA remains steadfast in advocating for policies that improve and strengthen interprofessional relationships, not weaken them. We believe physician-led, team-based healthcare is the best model for patient safety and quality of care, and we’re committed to keeping Tennessee physicians as the supervising professionals in patient care. 

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BALANCE BILLING 
TMA leads a coalition of hospital-based physicians to protect patients from narrow networks created by insurance companies by supporting SB001. To this end TMA is supporting a provider-friendly bill developing from Sen. Bo Watson and Rep. Robin Smith. Their vision promotes a fair independent resolution process while holding harmless a patient who has done their due diligence. The bill is based off Georgia’s successful model. The bill encourages payers to offer fair in-network rates to providers and keep out-of-network and non-participating facilities to a minimum or be forced into loser pays arbitration.

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GRADUATE MEDICAL EDUCATION FUNDING
CMS ruled in summer 2020 that Tennessee must redesign its formula for funding graduate medical education slots through TennCare. The upcoming change has the potential to jeopardize all of Tennessee’s residents and over $50 million dollars in medical education funding. TMA is focused on gaining a seat at the table for further discussions on resident funding, preserving the slots currently funded.