Tennessee 114th General Assembly Status: Enacted Bipartisan · 41 R · 14 D cosponsors

HB 1956 — AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 8; Title 56; Title 63; Title 68 and Title 71, relative to step therapy.

Last action — Effective date(s) 01/01/2027

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

This bill has been enacted into law. Introduced January 22, 2026. Enacted.

Signed by Governor Bill Lee (Republican) on April 30, 2026.

Odds of enactment

High chance

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

Upgrade to see the exact probability and what's driving it.

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

Prognosis

Likely to advance 98% · high confidence

  • Enacted

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 59 sponsors

    1 primary, 58 co-sponsors signed on.

  • Bipartisan support

    Sponsored across 2 parties (41 R · 14 D) — cross-party backing.

  • Cleared a recorded vote

    Passed 2 recorded votes so far.

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

In plain language

The bill expands step therapy restrictions for cancer treatment coverage by insurers.

This legislation amends existing laws to broaden the limitations on step therapy protocols that health insurance plans can require for cancer treatments. It removes the previous restriction that only applied to advanced metastatic cancer, now applying it to any cancer diagnosis.

What this means for you
  • Healthcare: This means that healthcare providers will have fewer barriers when prescribing essential cancer medications for their patients.

Summary

Insurance Companies, Agents, Brokers, Policies - As enacted, expands the prohibition, from stage 4 advanced metastatic cancer or metastatic blood cancer to any cancer, against a health benefit plan that provides coverage for cancer requiring the use of a step therapy protocol before the health benefit plan provides coverage for an approved prescription drug to an enrollee who has received a diagnosis of cancer. - Amends TCA Title 8; Title 56; 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. Action deferred in Senate Commerce and Labor Committee to 3/10/2026

  6. Placed on Senate Commerce and Labor Committee calendar for 3/10/2026

  7. Action deferred in Senate Commerce and Labor Committee to 3/17/2026

  8. Placed on Senate Commerce and Labor Committee calendar for 4/7/2026

  9. Recommended for passage, refer to Senate Calendar Committee

  10. Placed on Senate Regular Calendar for 4/20/2026

  11. Placed on Senate Regular Calendar for 4/20/2026

  12. Sponsor(s) Added.

  13. Companion House Bill substituted

  14. Sponsor(s) Added.

  15. Comp. became Pub. Ch. 995

  16. Filed for introduction

  17. Intro., P1C.

  18. P2C, ref. to Insurance Committee - Government Operations for Review

  19. Assigned to s/c Insurance Subcommittee

  20. Placed on s/c cal Insurance Subcommittee for 3/4/2026

  21. Action Def. in s/c Insurance Subcommittee to 3/11/2026

  22. Placed on s/c cal Insurance Subcommittee for 3/11/2026

  23. Rec. for pass by s/c ref. to Insurance Committee

  24. Placed on cal. Insurance Committee for 3/17/2026

  25. Sponsor(s) Added.

  26. Sponsor(s) Added.

  27. Action def. in Insurance Committee to 3/24/2026

  28. Placed on cal. Insurance Committee for 3/24/2026

  29. Sponsor(s) Added.

  30. Rec. for pass; ref to Government Operations Committee

  31. Placed on cal. Government Operations Committee for 3/30/2026

  32. Rec. for pass; ref to Calendar & Rules Committee

  33. Placed on cal. Calendar & Rules Committee for 4/2/2026

  34. H. Placed on Regular Calendar for 4/6/2026

  35. Sponsor(s) Added.

  36. Passed H., Ayes 90, Nays 1, PNV 4

  37. Engrossed; ready for transmission to Sen.

  38. Received from House, Passed on First Consideration

  39. Senate substituted House Bill for companion Senate Bill.

  40. Passed Senate, Ayes 30, Nays 3

  41. Enrolled; ready for sig. of H. Speaker.

  42. Signed by H. Speaker

  43. Signed by Senate Speaker

  44. Transmitted to Governor for his action.

  45. Signed by Governor.

  46. Pub. Ch. 995

  47. Effective date(s) 01/01/2027

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

Export CSV (upgrade) →

1 sponsors · 58 co-sponsors · 74 not signed on

Sponsors (1)

Co-sponsors (58)

Not signed on (74)

74 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 74 →

"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

Votes

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 1956 do?
Insurance Companies, Agents, Brokers, Policies - As enacted, expands the prohibition, from stage 4 advanced metastatic cancer or metastatic blood cancer to any cancer, against a health benefit plan that provides coverage for cancer requiring the use of a step therapy protocol before the health benefit plan provides coverage for an approved prescription drug to an enrollee who has received a diagnosis of cancer. - Amends TCA Title 8; Title 56; Title 63; Title 68 and Title 71.
Who sponsors HB 1956?
HB 1956 is sponsored by Hicks G, Hicks T, Martin B, Jones R, Alexander, Rebecca K. (Republican), Raper, Kevin D. (Republican), Littleton, Mary (Republican), Rudder, Iris (Republican), McCalmon, Jake (Republican), Williams, Ryan (Republican), Faison, Jeremy (Republican), White, Mark (Republican), Marsh, Pat (Republican), Slater, William (Republican), Travis, Ron (Republican), Boyd, Clark (Republican), Grills, Rusty (Republican), Zachary, Jason (Republican), Scarbrough, Rick (Republican), Russell, Lowell (Republican), Vital, Greg (Republican), Gant, Ron M. (Republican), Lynn, Susan M. (Republican), Carringer, Michele (Republican), Maberry, Aron (Republican), Darby, Tandy (Republican), Doggett, Clay (Republican), Helton-Haynes, Esther (Republican), Freeman, Bob (Democrat), Lamberth, William (Republican), Gillespie, John (Republican), Cochran, Mark (Republican), Moody, Debra (Republican), Howell, Dan (Republican), Hawk, David B. (Republican), Farmer, Andrew (Republican), Sherrell, Paul (Republican), Moon, Jerome (Republican), Harris, Torrey C. (Democrat), Dixie, Vincent (Democrat), Parkinson, Antonio (Democrat), Crawford, John (Republican), Mitchell, Bo (Democrat), Hale, Michael (Republican), Pearson, Justin J. (Democrat), Bricken, Rush (Republican), Davis, Elaine (Republican), Powell, Jason (Democrat), Camper, Karen D. (Democrat), Terry, Bryan (Republican), Wright, Dave (Republican), Capley, Kip (Republican), Glynn, Ronnie (Democrat), Powers, Dennis (Republican), Chism, Jesse (Democrat), Hakeem, Yusuf (Democrat), Hemmer, Caleb (Democrat), Love, Jr., Harold (Democrat), and Clemmons, John Ray (Democrat).
What is the current status of HB 1956?
This bill has been enacted into law. Introduced January 22, 2026. Enacted.
Where can I track HB 1956?
Track HB 1956 free on One Click Politics — get push/email alerts when it moves.

Make your voice heard on HB 1956

Find the representatives who decide this bill and tell them where you stand — for yourself, or mobilize your whole list in one click with One Click Politics advocacy software.

Find my representatives → Run a campaign

Stay ahead of HB 1956

Last checked for changes 3 months ago · updated continuously

One Click Politics tracks every bill in Congress and all 50 states.

Track this bill →