AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 68-5-602, relative to maternal health screening.
Summary
SB1283 updates Tennessee’s maternal health screening law by expanding and clarifying the blood tests that must be performed for pregnant patients. Under the bill, a physician or other authorized attendant must ensure that a blood sample is taken at the first prenatal examination or within 10 days of that visit, or at delivery if that is the first encounter. The sample must be tested for syphilis infection, rubella immunity, hepatitis B surface antigen, and hepatitis C antibody, with automatic reflex testing for HCV RNA if the antibody test is reactive.
The bill also requires repeat syphilis testing between the 28th and 32nd week of gestation and again at delivery for all pregnant women. It preserves the existing rule that additional rubella immunity testing is not needed in later pregnancies once immunity is documented or prior vaccination is verified. Positive tests for syphilis, hepatitis B, and hepatitis C must be reported to the local health department under communicable disease reporting rules. The act takes effect July 1, 2025.
Impact
The bill amends Tennessee Code Annotated section 68-5-602, strengthening and modernizing prenatal screening requirements for pregnant women and the clinicians who care for them. It adds hepatitis C testing with reflex RNA confirmation, explicitly requires repeat syphilis screening later in pregnancy and at delivery, and reinforces reporting obligations to local health departments for positive infectious disease results. The practical effect is to increase early detection and public health surveillance for maternal infections that can affect pregnancy outcomes and newborn health.
Sentiment
The available voting history suggests broad support for the measure. It passed the Senate Health and Welfare Committee unanimously and later cleared the Senate floor by a wide margin, indicating little formal opposition. The bill’s title and content frame it as a maternal health and communicable disease screening measure, which likely contributed to its favorable reception.
Contention
No committee transcript is available, and the recorded votes show limited visible contention. Any potential concerns would likely center on the added testing and reporting obligations for providers, including compliance burdens, timing of repeated syphilis tests, and the expanded hepatitis C screening requirement with reflex confirmatory testing. However, the vote totals indicate these issues did not generate significant opposition in the legislative process.