The Second Annual Session of the One Hundred Twelfth General Assembly of the State of Tennessee is in full swing. We are getting excited for all the new legislation being filed this week! In the Senate, our bill filing deadline is February 3rd, so we had many meetings and discussions with constituents and organizations this week in preparation. I am looking forward to seeing the various bills my fellow Senators bring forward.

During Thursday morning's session, the Senate unanimously passed Senate Bill Number 1! I co-sponsored this bill that specifically targets surprise or unexpected medical billing. Balanced billing happens when patients pay the difference between the amount the providers charge and the amount the patient's insurance covers, which is almost always less than the provider's charges.

However, this bill changes that structure. Starting this year, a federal bill passed so patients will not get balanced bills when they seek emergency services or when they receive non-emergency care from an "out-of-network" service provider of which they were unaware. You can learn more by reading the below article, which Senator Watson mentioned on the floor or even watching the video of our session!

Also this week, I was fortunate enough to be visited by some of my constituents! It is so nice to catch up with citizens of the 18th District. I realize that we are living in irregular times, so I always appreciate constituents taking the time to contact me and update me on current issues they are facing at home.

On Wednesday, the Senate passed the House's redistricting map for Tennessee Representative Districts. There are 6 districts with no incumbents, so there will be six new representatives up here on the hill!

We want to spotlight a different member of our community each week. Do you know someone in the 18th District who has done something extraordinary recently? Send us an email (sen.ferrell.haile@capitol.tn.gov), with subject line "Constituent Spotlight Submission" and tell us about them. We will read through each submission and decide on one person to highlight in our newsletter each week.