Tennessee 2025-2026 Regular Session

Tennessee Senate Bill SB0463 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New		Differences
1	1
2		-	HOUSE BILL 595
3		-	By Hemmer
	2	+	<BillNo> <Sponsor>
4	3
5	4		SENATE BILL 463
6	5		By Briggs
7	6
8	7
9	8		SB0463
10	9		002107
11	10		- 1 -
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13	12		AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 56
14	13		and Title 71, relative to families.
15	14
16	15		BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
17	16		SECTION 1. This act is known and may be cited as the "Freedom to Grow Our
18	17		Tennessee Families Act."
19	18		SECTION 2. Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 56, Chapter 7, Part 23, is amended by
20	19		adding the following as a new section:
21	20		(a) As used in this section:
22	21		(1) "Enrollee" means a person on whose behalf a health insurer is
23	22		obligated to pay benefits or provide services under a health benefit plan;
24	23		(2) "Experimental fertility procedure" means a procedure for which the
25	24		published medical evidence is not sufficient for the American Society for
26	25		Reproductive Medicine, its successor organization, or a comparable organization
27	26		to regard the procedure as established medical practice;
28	27		(3) "Fertility diagnostic care" means procedures, products, medications,
29	28		and services intended to provide information and counseling about an individual's
30	29		fertility, including laboratory assessments and imaging studies;
31	30		(4) "Fertility patient" means:
32	31		(A) An individual or couple with infertility;
33	32		(B) An individual unable to conceive as an individual or with a
34	33		partner because the individual or couple does not have the necessary
35	34		gametes for conception; or
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40	39		(C) A couple that is at increased risk of transmitting a serious
41	40		inheritable genetic or chromosomal condition to a child;
42	41		(5) "Fertility preservation services":
43	42		(A) Means procedures, products, medications, and services
44	43		intended to preserve fertility, consistent with established medical practice
45	44		and professional guidelines published by the American Society for
46	45		Reproductive Medicine, its successor organization, or a comparable
47	46		organization, for an individual who has a medical condition or who is
48	47		expected to receive medical treatment that may cause or has the
49	48		potential to cause a risk of impairment of fertility; and
50	49		(B) Includes evaluation expenses; laboratory assessments;
51	50		medications; treatment associated with fertility preservation services; the
52	51		procurement and cryopreservation of gametes, embryos, and
53	52		reproductive material; and storage from the time of cryopreservation for a
54	53		period of at least three (3) years;
55	54		(6) "Fertility treatment" means procedures, products, medications, and
56	55		services intended to achieve pregnancy that results in a live birth with healthy
57	56		outcomes and that are provided in a manner consistent with established medical
58	57		practice and professional guidelines published by the American Society for
59	58		Reproductive Medicine, its successor organization, or a comparable
60	59		organization;
61	60		(7) "Gamete" means sperm or eggs;
62	61		(8) "Health benefit plan" means a contract or policy for health insurance
63	62		coverage, as defined in § 56-7-109;
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68	67		(9) "Health insurer" means a health insurance entity, as defined in § 56-
69	68		7-109; and
70	69		(10) "Infertility" means:
71	70		(A) The inability to establish pregnancy or to carry a pregnancy to
72	71		live birth after twelve (12) months of regular, unprotected sexual
73	72		intercourse when the couple has the necessary gametes for conception,
74	73		or a period of less than twelve (12) months due to a person's age or other
75	74		factors when the couple has the necessary gametes for conception. A
76	75		pregnancy that does not result in a live birth does not toll or restart the
77	76		twelve-month period of time described in this subdivision (a)(7)(A); or
78	77		(B) The presence of a condition recognized by a licensed
79	78		physician that impacts an individual's ability to establish pregnancy or to
80	79		carry a pregnancy based on a patient's medical, sexual, and reproductive
81	80		history, age, physical findings, or diagnostic testing, or any combination of
82	81		such factors.
83	82		(b) A health insurer that issues, delivers, amends, or renews a health benefit
84	83		plan that is to be in effect in this state on or after January 1, 2026, shall provide
85	84		coverage for all of the following:
86	85		(1) Fertility diagnostic care;
87	86		(2) Fertility treatment; and
88	87		(3) Fertility preservation services.
89	88		(c) Coverage required by subsection (b) must:
90	89		(1) Include at least three (3) complete oocyte retrievals with unlimited
91	90		embryo transfers from those oocyte retrievals or from any oocyte retrieval
92	91		performed prior to January 1, 2026, in accordance with the guidelines of the
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97	96		American Society for Reproductive Medicine, using single embryo transfer when
98	97		recommended and medically appropriate; and
99	98		(2) Be provided regardless of whether donor gametes or embryos are
100	99		used or an embryo is transferred to the uterus of a person acting as surrogate.
101	100		(d) Coverage for fertility preservation services pursuant to subsection (b) must
102	101		be provided regardless of an enrollee's past or present treatment for cancer, sickle cell
103	102		disease, lupus, menorrhagia, endometriosis, or uterine fibroids.
104	103		(e) Relative to coverage required by subsection (b), a health insurer shall not:
105	104		(1) Impose a waiting period;
106	105		(2) Use a prior diagnosis or prior fertility treatment as a basis for
107	106		excluding, limiting, or otherwise restricting the availability of such coverage;
108	107		(3) Impose limitations on coverage for fertility services based on an
109	108		enrollee's use of donor gametes, donor embryos, or surrogacy; or
110	109		(4) Impose different limitations on coverage for, provide different benefits
111	110		to, or impose different requirements on a class of persons on account of an
112	111		individual's actual or perceived race, color, sex, disability, ancestry, or
113	112		relationship status.
114	113		(f) Any limitation a health insurer imposes on the coverage required by this
115	114		section must be based on an enrollee's medical history and clinical guidelines adopted
116	115		by the health insurer. Any clinical guidelines used by a health insurer must be based on
117	116		current guidelines developed by the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, its
118	117		successor organization, or a comparable organization; must cite with specificity any data
119	118		or scientific reference relied upon; must be maintained in written form; and must be
120	119		made available to an enrollee in writing upon request.
121	120		(g) This section does not require a health insurer to provide coverage for:
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126	125		(1) An experimental fertility procedure; or
127	126		(2) Nonmedical costs related to donor gametes, donor embryos, or
128	127		surrogacy.
129	128		(h) The commissioner of commerce and insurance is authorized to promulgate
130	129		rules to effectuate this section, including, but not limited to, cost-sharing, benefit design,
131	130		and clinical guidelines. When promulgating such rules, the commissioner shall consider
132	131		the clinical guidelines developed by the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, its
133	132		successor organization, or a comparable organization. The rules must be promulgated
134	133		in accordance with the Uniform Administrative Procedures Act, compiled in title 4,
135	134		chapter 5.
136	135		SECTION 3. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 71-3-104(b)(1), is amended by
137	136		deleting the subsection and substituting the following:
138	137		(1) A caretaker relative who becomes ineligible for any reason is eligible for
139	138		transitional childcare assistance for a period of not less than six (6) months. The
140	139		department shall pay childcare assistance on a sliding fee scale based upon a family's
141	140		income for so long as federal funding or any related waiver is in effect.
142	141		SECTION 4. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 71-5-107(a), is amended by adding
143	142		the following as a new subsection:
144	143		(29) Fertility care for a fertility patient, as described in SECTION 2.
145	144		SECTION 5. This act takes effect January 1, 2026, the public welfare requiring it.