Tennessee Senate Bill SB1796

Tennessee 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 1/20/26

Caption

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 56, Chapter 7, Part 31 and Title 56, Chapter 7, Part 32, relative to pharmacy benefits managers.

Summary

SB1796 requires the Tennessee Commissioner of Commerce and Insurance to use existing resources to prepare and publish a report by October 1, 2026, on alleged violations of Tennessee Code Annotated § 56-7-3124 by pharmacy benefits managers (PBMs) during the fiscal year ending June 30, 2026. The report must state the total number of reported violations, summarize the commissioner’s findings from any investigations, and list any penalties imposed on PBMs found to have violated the statute. The bill is a reporting and transparency measure rather than a direct regulatory overhaul. It does not create new PBM duties or penalties in the text provided, but it does require the state insurance regulator to compile and disclose enforcement information to legislative leaders and the legislative librarian, with publication allowed electronically.

Impact

SB1796 affects Tennessee’s insurance and pharmacy benefit manager oversight framework by adding a one-time reporting requirement for the Commissioner of Commerce and Insurance. It directs the commissioner to document enforcement activity related to § 56-7-3124, which governs PBM conduct, and to share that information with the General Assembly. The bill may increase transparency around PBM compliance and enforcement, but it does not itself amend the underlying PBM standards or expand enforcement authority.

Sentiment

Based on the bill text and the absence of recorded committee debate or votes, the measure appears to be a relatively noncontroversial oversight bill focused on information gathering and public reporting. Its tone suggests legislative interest in monitoring pharmacy benefit manager compliance and the state’s enforcement response. No opposition or support was documented in the materials provided, so the overall sentiment cannot be tied to specific arguments, but the bill appears administrative and accountability-oriented.

Contention

No committee transcript or vote history was provided, so there are no recorded points of contention in the available materials. Potential areas of concern, if raised, would likely center on the administrative burden on the commissioner, the sufficiency of using existing resources, or broader policy debates over PBM regulation and transparency. However, none of those issues are documented in the supplied record.