TMA’s physician leaders and staff gathered in Nashville July 18-20 for the annual Board of Trustees retreat and quarterly meeting. The Board approved the 2026 legislative advocacy agenda, discussed strategy priorities for the next year and worked to address pressing issues important to Tennessee physicians.

The legislative agenda for 2026 includes:

• Insurance Payment Reform Act, including but not limited to:
  • Require Commercial health insurers to provide specific written or electronic notice of claim denial or payment (Res. 21 – 25)
  • Require all insurance adverse determinations by AI to be reviewed by a Tennessee Licensed physician (Res. 11 – 25)
  • Prohibit arbitrary downcoding by insurers unless the medical records have been reviewed first
  • Require insurers to give providers a choice for payment with at least one option without payment processing fees (i.e. electronic funds transfer rather than a credit card which costs 3%
• Artificial Intelligence - Requires Tennessee physicians to review and approve any diagnosis or treatment plans procured through AI before accepting or initiating treatment recommendations (Res. 11 – 25)
• Increased TennCare Reimbursement

The Board of Trustees spent time working on:

• Consideration of new revenue streams to improve financial position for future program investments in years to come
• Strengthening membership recruitment efforts through educated marketing strategies and a leadership focused recruitment campaign
• Exploring ways to modernize TMA’s Annual Meeting and House of Delegates meeting to encourage improved attendance and engagement among members
• Understanding the impact of federal budgetary changes and identifying opportunities to support rural and medically underserved communities
• Approving plans for a more expanded strategic planning exercise to include members beyond the current board members in 2026

Notably, TMA leaders recognized Mr. David Steed who recently retired from service as TMAs outside counsel for the past 32 years. Mr. Steed was recognized at the Board dinner on Saturday evening and presented with the official resolution of the TMA House of Delegates recognizing his years of service. Physician leaders and TMA staff provided remarks on his momentous work for Tennessee physicians, including his counsel in litigation efforts against health insurers in the 1990s for black box edits and downcoding practices.

The next Board of Trustees meeting will take place on Nov. 1, 2025 at the TMA headquarters in Nashville. For questions or more information, reach out to TMA’s Director of Executive Services and Governance, Amy Campoli, at amy.campoli@tnmed.org.