Tennessee Senate Bill SB0424

Tennessee 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 1/28/25

Caption

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 63, Chapter 10 and Title 71, Chapter 5, relative to weight management.

Summary

SB0424 amends Tennessee pharmacy law to expressly allow weight management services to be included in a collaborative pharmacy practice agreement. Under current law, these agreements permit pharmacists to provide certain services in collaboration with other health care providers; this bill adds weight management to the list of services that may be authorized. The measure is brief and does not create a new program or mandate, but instead clarifies and expands the scope of services that pharmacists may provide when operating under such agreements. The bill is aimed at integrating pharmacists more directly into weight management care, potentially allowing patients to receive counseling or related services through collaborative practice arrangements. Because the bill amends Title 63 and references Title 71 in its caption, it is part of Tennessee’s broader health care and pharmacy regulatory framework, though the operative text specifically changes Section 63-10-217. It takes effect immediately upon becoming law.

Impact

The bill would amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 63-10-217, to add weight management services as an authorized service within collaborative pharmacy practice agreements. This would affect pharmacists, collaborating prescribers, and patients receiving weight-related care by expanding the range of services that may be delivered under these agreements. The bill does not appear to alter reimbursement, licensing requirements, or scope-of-practice rules beyond this authorization, but it could support broader access to pharmacist-led or pharmacist-supported weight management interventions.

Sentiment

There is little recorded debate or voting history in the provided materials, so the overall sentiment appears neutral to favorable by implication. The bill’s narrow, technical language suggests it was likely intended as a practical expansion of pharmacy practice rather than a controversial policy change. No committee testimony or votes are available to indicate organized opposition or strong public controversy.

Contention

No specific points of contention are documented in the provided record. Potential areas of concern, if raised, would likely involve the appropriate scope of pharmacist practice, the need for collaboration with physicians or other prescribers, and whether weight management services should be explicitly authorized in statute. However, the available materials do not show any stated opposition, amendments, or disputed issues.