State Legislative Advocacy

TNAFP exists to serve and support family physicians and their patients, and one of the most important ways we do that is through legislative and regulatory advocacy. The Academy works directly with lawmakers at the state level – and at the national level in conjunction with AAFP – to promote good healthcare policies and oppose measures that adversely impact family physicians and/or their patients.

Tennessee’s family physicians can use the Academy to engage in the legislative process and connect directly with their representatives at the state capitol, where TNAFP represents 2,500 members with a single, coordinated and respected voice.

Elected officials in Nashville make decisions that affect how you practice medicine and deliver care to your patients. As the saying goes, “If you aren’t at the table, then you’re on the menu.”

The Tennessee General Assembly files more than 1,000 pieces of legislation every year, on average, and at least 300 bills are related to healthcare. TNAFP monitors all bills related to healthcare and keeps members informed of important issues during the session, even when the Academy has no official position or must remain neutral because of differing opinions within the membership. Generally speaking, TNAFP opposes measures that could adversely affect family physicians and patients and supports proposals that improve patient care and the practice of medicine.

2024 Legislative Priorities

The TNAFP Board of Directors approved the Legislative Committee’s recommendations to focus the Academy’s efforts and resources in the following three areas for the upcoming legislative session.

1. Scope of practice – Continue working with the Coalition for Collaborative Care to prevent nurse practitioners and physician assistants from gaining full independent practice in Tennessee and work toward a compromise for physician-led, team-based healthcare delivery.
2. Loan repayment – Seek an amendment to the 2023 family medicine loan repayment bill (SB781/HB1281) that allows the 501(c)3 TNAFP Foundation to work directly with the Tennessee Department of Health to administrator the program.
3. Residency licensure – Changing current law to allow foreign medical graduates who meet certain requirements to obtain a Tennessee medical license after the first year of residency like their U.S. graduate counterparts. Updating the law will put Tennessee more in line with other nearby states and help recruit and retain more family physicians.