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.

SB 2070, the "SHIELD Act," prohibits health insurance companies from penalizing healthcare providers for treating patients with legally recognized vaccine exemptions (based on religious beliefs or medical contraindications). It requires insurers to exclude exempt patients from vaccination-related quality metrics, such as vaccination rate calculations, and bans insurers from dropping providers from networks or reducing payments solely because they treat such patients. The law applies to all quality measures used for reimbursement, including HEDIS, and ensures claims denied in violation of these rules are treated as "clean claims" subject to standard penalties. It takes effect July 1, 2026, affecting Tennessee healthcare providers, insurers, and patients with valid vaccine exemptions.