Insurance, Health, Accident - As enacted, enacts the "Stopping Health Insurers from Excluding Legal Decisions (SHIELD) Act." - Amends TCA Title 8; Title 56 and Title 71.

HB 2243, the "SHIELD Act," prohibits health insurance companies from including patients with legally recognized vaccine exemptions (based on religion or medical reasons) in vaccination-related quality metrics used to determine provider reimbursement rates. It directly affects healthcare providers who treat such patients and health insurance entities that set payment structures. The bill requires insurers to exclude exempt patients from calculations of vaccination rates and bans them from penalizing providers - through reduced payments, network removal, or withheld bonuses - for having these patients in their practice. This ensures providers aren’t financially penalized for following state law on vaccine exemptions. The law takes effect July 1, 2026, for new or renewed insurance contracts.