AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 37; Title 68 and Title 71, relative to psychotropic medication.
HB2389 requires TennCare, in consultation with the Department of Health and the Department of Children’s Services, to publish two statewide reports on psychotropic medication use and costs. One report covers TennCare enrollees generally and must break out data by age group, number of distinct psychotropic medications prescribed, county of residence, and total program costs, including state and federal funding shares. The second report focuses on children in state custody receiving foster care services and similarly tracks age, medication counts, county, and costs when the medication is paid through the TennCare pharmacy benefit.
The bill defines psychotropic medication broadly to include antipsychotics, antidepressants, anti-mania/depression agents, antianxiety agents, stimulants, and hypnotics. The first report is due by January 1, 2027, and both reports must then be issued biannually, posted publicly on the TennCare website, and sent to the relevant health committees in the House and Senate. The reports must include comparative data for the prior two calendar years and may be accompanied by executive summaries or recommendations.
The bill adds a new reporting requirement to Tennessee Code Annotated Title 71 and indirectly affects Title 37 by requiring reporting on children in state custody receiving foster care services. It does not change eligibility or prescribing rules for psychotropic medications, but it does require TennCare to collect, aggregate, and publicly disclose detailed utilization and cost data, subject to HIPAA and other privacy protections. The measure may increase administrative work for TennCare and collaborating agencies while improving legislative and public visibility into psychotropic prescribing patterns and spending.
The available voting history suggests the bill was generally well received and moved forward with little opposition. It passed the House TennCare Subcommittee unanimously, advanced through the House Insurance Committee with only one dissenting vote, and then passed the House Government Operations Committee unanimously. No committee transcript was provided, but the strong vote margins indicate broad support for the bill’s transparency and oversight goals.
The main potential point of contention is privacy: the bill requires publication of detailed data on medication use, including county-level and age-based breakdowns, which could raise concerns about re-identification, especially for children in state custody. The bill addresses this by requiring de-identification, suppression of small cell sizes, and compliance with HIPAA and related federal privacy rules. Another possible concern is the administrative burden on TennCare and partner agencies to compile and maintain the reports, though the committee votes suggest these concerns did not prevent advancement.