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HB0693 • 2026

Pharmacy, Pharmacists

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 53, Chapter 10; Title 56, Chapter 32 and Title 63, Chapter 10, relative to pharmacy.

Healthcare
Enacted

This bill passed the Legislature and reached final enactment based on the latest official action.

Sponsor
Baum, Reeves
Last action
2025-04-08
Official status
Comp. became Pub. Ch. 68
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The official source material does not provide specific conditions under which pharmacists can prescribe legend drugs or hormonal contraceptives.

Pharmacy Practice Changes

This law amends Tennessee's pharmacy regulations to allow pharmacists to prescribe certain drugs and hormonal contraceptives under specific conditions, revises restrictions on administrative fees for insured patients receiving hormonal contraceptives from pharmacies, and adds pharmacists to the list of healthcare providers protected against discrimination.

What This Bill Does

  • Allows pharmacists to write prescriptions for legend drugs (drugs that need a prescription) in certain situations.
  • Adds pharmacists to the list of professionals who can prescribe hormonal contraceptives under specific agreements with prescribers.
  • Revises restrictions on charging administrative fees for providing hormonal contraceptives, allowing patients to be required to pay an administrative fee even if they are insured and covered by their pharmacy benefit.
  • Expands protections against discrimination to include pharmacists among other healthcare providers.

Who It Names or Affects

  • Pharmacists in Tennessee
  • Patients who receive prescriptions from pharmacists
  • Health insurance issuers

Terms To Know

Legend Drugs
Drugs that federal law requires a prescription to obtain.
Hormonal Contraceptives
Birth control methods like pills, patches, and injections that contain hormones.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The bill does not specify the exact conditions under which pharmacists can prescribe legend drugs or hormonal contraceptives.
  • It is unclear how insurance companies will respond to changes in administrative fee policies for insured patients receiving hormonal contraceptives from pharmacies.

Bill History

  1. 2025-04-08 Tennessee General Assembly

    Comp. became Pub. Ch. 68

  2. 2025-04-08 Tennessee General Assembly

    Effective date(s) 07/01/2025

  3. 2025-04-08 Tennessee General Assembly

    Pub. Ch. 68

  4. 2025-03-25 Tennessee General Assembly

    Signed by Governor.

  5. 2025-03-18 Tennessee General Assembly

    Transmitted to Governor for action.

  6. 2025-03-17 Tennessee General Assembly

    Signed by H. Speaker

  7. 2025-03-17 Tennessee General Assembly

    Signed by Senate Speaker

  8. 2025-03-13 Tennessee General Assembly

    Comp. SB subst.

  9. 2025-03-13 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  10. 2025-03-13 Tennessee General Assembly

    Enrolled and ready for signatures

  11. 2025-03-13 Tennessee General Assembly

    Passed H., Ayes 84, Nays 4, PNV 0

  12. 2025-03-13 Tennessee General Assembly

    Subst. for comp. HB.

  13. 2025-03-10 Tennessee General Assembly

    H. Placed on Regular Calendar for 3/13/2025

  14. 2025-03-10 Tennessee General Assembly

    Objected to on Consent Calendar.

  15. 2025-03-10 Tennessee General Assembly

    Rcvd. from S., held on H. desk.

  16. 2025-03-06 Tennessee General Assembly

    H. Placed on Consent Calendar for 3/10/2025

  17. 2025-03-06 Tennessee General Assembly

    Engrossed; ready for transmission to House

  18. 2025-03-06 Tennessee General Assembly

    Passed Senate, Ayes 27, Nays 3

  19. 2025-03-05 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on cal. Calendar & Rules Committee for 3/6/2025

  20. 2025-03-04 Tennessee General Assembly

    Rec. for pass; ref to Calendar & Rules Committee

  21. 2025-03-04 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  22. 2025-03-04 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Regular Calendar for 3/6/2025

  23. 2025-03-03 Tennessee General Assembly

    Senate Reset on calendar on 3-6-2025

  24. 2025-02-27 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Consent Calendar 2 for 3/3/2025

  25. 2025-02-26 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on cal. Health Committee for 3/4/2025

  26. 2025-02-25 Tennessee General Assembly

    Action def. in Health Committee to 3/4/25

  27. 2025-02-25 Tennessee General Assembly

    Recommended for passage, refer to Senate Calendar Committee

  28. 2025-02-19 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on cal. Health Committee for 2/25/2025

  29. 2025-02-19 Tennessee General Assembly

    Rec. for pass by s/c ref. to Health Committee

  30. 2025-02-18 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Commerce and Labor Committee calendar for 2/25/2025

  31. 2025-02-12 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on s/c cal Health Subcommittee for 2/19/2025

  32. 2025-02-12 Tennessee General Assembly

    Passed on Second Consideration, refer to Senate Commerce and Labor Committee

  33. 2025-02-10 Tennessee General Assembly

    Assigned to s/c Health Subcommittee

  34. 2025-02-10 Tennessee General Assembly

    Introduced, Passed on First Consideration

  35. 2025-02-06 Tennessee General Assembly

    P2C, ref. to Health Committee

  36. 2025-02-05 Tennessee General Assembly

    Intro., P1C.

  37. 2025-02-03 Tennessee General Assembly

    Filed for introduction

  38. 2025-01-30 Tennessee General Assembly

    Filed for introduction

Official Summary Text

LEGEND DRUGS

Under present law, i
t is unlawful
to
sell, barter or give away a legend drug,
which is
any item that
federal law prohibits dispensing without a prescription
,
from a licensed doctor, dentist, optometrist or veterinarian
, except upon the written prescription of
certain professionals, including
a duly licensed physician; certified physician assistant; nurse
authorized
under the board of medical examiners
or
osteopathic medical service
, who is rendering service under the supervision, control and responsibility of a licensed physician, and who meets the requirements
to obtain a certificate of fitness
; a dentis
t; an optometrist
having met the requirements of the p
ractice of optometry as a profession
; or a veterinarian, and compounded or dispensed by a duly registered pharmacist.
This bill adds
a pharmacist
to this li
st
of individuals who can so prescribe.

Und
er present law, i
t is unlawful for any person to have in the person's possession
a legend drug
without the drug having been prescribed by a duly licensed physician, certified physician assistant, dentist, optometrist
,
or veterinarian, and having been dispe
nsed by a pharmacy duly licensed and registered in this state, unless the person was a resident of another state and had the prescription filled by a duly licensed and registered pharmacist of the other state
. This bill adds
a pharmacist
to this li
st
of i
ndividuals who can so prescribe.

However, present law provides such unlawful possession
does not apply to a licensed physician, certified physician assistant, dentist, optometrist
,
or veterinarian, nor to the drugs under the control of
such a person
in t
he practice of that person's profession, and the exemption includes a nurse
under the board of medical examiners
or
osteopathic medical service
, who is rendering service under the supervision, control and responsibility of a licensed physician, and who mee
ts the requirements pursuant to
the board of nursing's annual
directory listing all persons licensed to practice as a professional or practical nurse in
this state.
This bill adds a pharmacist to this
exemption
lis
t.

HORMONAL CONTRACEPTIVE
S

Present law
authorizes
a pharmacist, in good faith, to provide hormonal contraceptives according to a valid collaborative pharmacy practice agreement containing a nonpatient-specific prescriptive order and standardized procedures developed and executed by one or more
authorized prescribers.
A
pharmacist may provide hormonal contraceptives to individuals who are
at least 18, or under 18
if the individual is an emancipated minor.

Present law authorizes a
pharmacist, pharmacist's employer, or pharmacist's agent
to
cha
rge an annual administrative fee for services
pertaining to the provision of hormonal contraceptives,
in addition to any costs associated with the dispensing of the drug and paid by the pharmacy benefit.

Patients who are insured or covered and receive a p
harmacy benefit that covers the cost of hormonal contraceptives
must
not be required to pay an administrative fee.
This bill revises this provision to allow patients to be required to pay an administrative fee.

DISCRIMINATION PROHIBITED

Present law pr
ohibits a
managed health insurance issuer
from
discriminat
ing
with respect to participation, referral, reimbursement of covered services, or indemnification as to any provider who is acting within the scope of the provider's license or certification under
state law, solely on the basis of the license or certification.

In selecting among providers of health services for membership in a provider network, a managed health insurance issuer or other network
must
not discriminate against a class of providers who
provide services that are covered by the plan by prohibiting the class of providers from membership in the provider network.

As used in this
bill
,
"
class of providers
"
means licensed physician assistants, certified nurse midwives
duly licensed by the sta
te board of nursing as a registered nurse and also duly certified as a nurse midwife by the American College of Nurse-Midwives
, and nurses in advanced practic
e, defined as a
registered nurse who is duly licensed by the state board of nursing and who is als
o a nationally certified nurse practitioner, a nationally certified registered nurse anesthetist, or a nationally certified clinical specialist
.
This bill adds to the "class of providers" pharmacists
acting within the scope of the provider's license or ce
rtification under state law
.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text
SENATE BILL 569
By Reeves

HOUSE BILL 693
By Baum

HB0693
000645
- 1 -

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 53,
Chapter 10; Title 56, Chapter 32 and Title 63,
Chapter 10, relative to pharmacy.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 53-10-104(a), is amended by
inserting the language "a pharmacist authorized pursuant to § 63-10-204;" immediately
preceding "or a veterinarian".
SECTION 2. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 53-10-105, is amended by inserting
the language "pharmacist authorized pursuant to § 63-10-204," immediately preceding "or
veterinarian" wherever it appears in subsection (a) and subdivision (b)(2).
SECTION 3. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 63-10-219(e), is amended by
deleting the language "shall prohibit" and substituting "must not prohibit".
SECTION 4. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 63-10-219(f)(2), is amended by
deleting the language "who are insured or covered and receive a pharmacy benefit that covers
the cost of hormonal contraceptives shall not be required to pay an administrative fee. These
patients".
SECTION 5. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 56-32-137, is amended by deleting
the language "certified nurse midwives as described in § 56-7-2407, and" and substituting
"certified nurse midwives as described in § 56-7-2407, pharmacists as described in § 56-32-
129, and".
SECTION 6. This act takes effect July 1, 2025, the public welfare requiring it.