Tennessee House Bill HB2405

Tennessee 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 2/3/26
• Refer: 2/5/26
• Refer: 3/25/26
• Refer: 3/31/26

Caption

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 8, Chapter 27, relative to health insurance for public safety employees.

Summary

HB2405 expands health insurance protections for public safety employees and their families when an officer is killed or suffers a catastrophic injury in the line of duty. The bill amends Tennessee law to require the state insurance committee, when approving health plans for state law enforcement officers, to continue or provide coverage for the officer’s spouse or surviving spouse and eligible dependent children, including an unborn child, with the employer paying the full premium for the officer, spouse, and dependents in qualifying cases. It defines “catastrophic injury” broadly, including certain permanent disabilities and injuries that would qualify a person for SSDI or SSI benefits. The bill also creates a parallel requirement for local law enforcement officers employed by political subdivisions that offer health insurance. In those cases, the local government must provide or continue coverage for the spouse or surviving spouse and eligible dependent children of an officer killed or catastrophically injured in the line of duty, and must pay the full premium for the officer and covered family members. The state would reimburse the political subdivision for the portion of premiums or COBRA-related expenses the local government is responsible for under the new mandate. The act is scheduled to take effect July 1, 2026.

Impact

HB2405 would amend Tennessee Code Annotated Title 8, Chapter 27 by adding and revising provisions governing health insurance benefits for state and local law enforcement personnel. It expands existing public employee benefit rules to create a statutory entitlement to continued family health coverage after a line-of-duty death or catastrophic injury, and it shifts the cost of coverage to the employing state agency or political subdivision, with state reimbursement available for qualifying local-government costs. The bill affects state agencies, counties, cities, and other political subdivisions that employ law enforcement officers, as well as spouses, surviving spouses, dependent children, and unborn children covered under the plan.

Sentiment

The available committee votes show strong support for the bill, with unanimous or near-unanimous recommendations for passage in both the House Public Service Subcommittee and the House State & Local Government Committee. No committee transcript opposition is provided, and the bill’s purpose—protecting families of officers killed or severely injured in the line of duty—suggests broadly favorable sentiment. The voting history indicates the measure was viewed as a public-safety and family-protection policy rather than a controversial change.

Contention

The main policy issue is fiscal responsibility: the bill requires employers to pay the full premium for affected officers and family members, and it also creates a state reimbursement obligation for local governments. That cost-sharing structure may be the primary point of concern for state and local budget officials, especially because the bill applies to political subdivisions that choose to offer health insurance to local law enforcement officers. Another potential point of discussion is the scope of eligibility, including the broad definition of catastrophic injury and the inclusion of unborn children and dependent coverage continuation after remarriage or coverage changes. No recorded committee debate is available, so specific objections are not documented in the provided materials.