NASHVILLE, Tenn. — A bill that would have prevented the charge for insulin from being higher than $35 per person, per 30-day supply, failed in the Tennessee Senate's Commerce and Labor Committee on Tuesday.
SB 1683 was introduced by Sen. London Lamar (D - Memphis) and did not get a second when it was proposed in the committee. During the meeting, Sen. Paul Bailey (R - Sparta) asked if the federal government had already instituted a $35 cap for insulin. Lamar said the federal legislation only applied to Medicare patients, and her bill would have covered all people.
The bill would have required health insurance carriers to provide coverage for prescription insulin drugs and would have capped the amount a person would have needed to pay for insulin at $35. Suppliers also would not be allowed to charge more than $35 for prescription insulin drugs "regardless of the amount, type, or number of insulins or the number of prescriptions needed to complete the thirty-day supply for a patient with diabetes."
Because the bill was not seconded in the committee, it was not fully discussed.
A fiscal note said it would have increased state expenditures by around $185,500 for the 2024-2025 fiscal year and around $20,100 in federal expenses.
"Enrollees in the TennCare program and the CoverKids program currently pay less than $20 in pharmacy co-payments for insulin drugs; therefore, any impact to the Division of TennCare is estimated to be not significant," the bill's fiscal note said.
Based on information provided by the Department of Commerce Insurance, the proposed legislation will not have a significant impact on the policies or procedures of the department.