Tennessee 114th General Assembly Status: In Committee 1 D cosponsors

HB 1859 — AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 4; Title 8; Title 9; Title 47, Chapter 18; Title 63; Title 68 and Title 71, relative to medical debt.

Last action — Taken off notice for cal in s/c Banking and Consumer Affairs Subcommittee of Commerce Committee

  1. ✓
    Introduced
  2. 2
    In Committee
  3. 3
    Passed House
  4. 4
    Passed Senate
  5. 5
    To Executive
  6. 6
    Enacted

This bill is in committee in the House. Introduced January 12, 2026. It must pass committee before a floor vote.

Next likely step: a committee vote, then a floor vote in the House.

Odds of enactment

Low chance

Based on the sponsor, cosponsors, and committee posture, this bill has a low chance of becoming law.

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A statistical estimate from our own model of past outcomes — an insight, not a guarantee. Policymaking is volatile.

Prognosis

Stalled 16% · moderate confidence

  • In Committee

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 1 sponsor

    1 primary, 0 co-sponsors signed on.

  • Single-party support

    Sponsorship is currently within one party (1 D).

Based on stage, sponsorship breadth, committee status, recorded votes, and cross-state momentum — a description of the observable signals, not a prediction.

Summary

Health Care - As introduced, enacts the "Freedom from Medical Debt Act," which requires the state treasurer to contract with a nonprofit entity to acquire and repay certain medical debts for Tennessee residents with incomes at or below 400 percent of the federal poverty level or who owe medical debt equal to 5 percent or more of their household income, and prohibits healthcare providers from reporting a patient's medical debt to a consumer reporting agency. - Amends TCA Title 4; Title 8; Title 9; Title 47, Chapter 18; Title 63; Title 68 and Title 71.

Bill Text

Action History

  1. Filed for introduction

  2. Introduced, Passed on First Consideration

  3. Passed on Second Consideration, refer to Senate Commerce and Labor Committee

  4. Placed on Senate Commerce and Labor Committee calendar for 3/3/2026

  5. Failed in Senate Commerce and Labor Committee (no second)

  6. Filed for introduction

  7. Intro., P1C.

  8. P2C, ref. to Commerce Committee

  9. Assigned to s/c Banking & Consumer Affairs Subcommittee

  10. Placed on s/c cal Banking & Consumer Affairs Subcommittee for 3/11/2026

  11. Taken off notice for cal in s/c Banking and Consumer Affairs Subcommittee of Commerce Committee

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

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1 sponsors · 0 co-sponsors · 132 not signed on

Sponsors (1)

Co-sponsors (0)

None.

Not signed on (132)

132 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 132 →

"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.

Whip count is in markup. Polling the chamber and every recorded vote this session. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Calling the roll · Tallying · Engrossing

Subjects

healthcare health-insurance
Cross-referencing the record. Reading this bill against every other bill in the corpus by meaning, not keywords. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Matching · Ranking · Engrossing

Frequently asked questions

What does HB 1859 do?
Health Care - As introduced, enacts the "Freedom from Medical Debt Act," which requires the state treasurer to contract with a nonprofit entity to acquire and repay certain medical debts for Tennessee residents with incomes at or below 400 percent of the federal poverty level or who owe medical debt equal to 5 percent or more of their household income, and prohibits healthcare providers from reporting a patient's medical debt to a consumer reporting agency. - Amends TCA Title 4; Title 8; Title 9; Title 47, Chapter 18; Title 63; Title 68 and Title 71.
Who sponsors HB 1859?
HB 1859 is sponsored by Brooks, Shaundelle (Democrat).
What is the current status of HB 1859?
This bill is in committee in the House. Introduced January 12, 2026. It must pass committee before a floor vote.
Where can I track HB 1859?
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Last checked for changes 3 months ago · updated continuously

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