Advocating for Tennessee Hearts: Our 2026 Policy Priorities

In Tennessee, the American Heart Association is working to advance policies that protect children, support families, and reduce the burden of chronic disease. Our 2025 agenda reflects a strong commitment to prevention, equity, and community health.

Here’s what we’re advocating for this year:

Supporting Healthy School Meals
We’re urging lawmakers to eliminate the reduced-price meal category and shift qualifying students to free meals. This change would reduce food insecurity, simplify school operations, and help address unpaid meal debt–ensuring more children get the nutrition they need to thrive.

Strengthening Tobacco Retail Oversight
We’re advocating for legislation that requires retail licensure for businesses selling tobacco products, including vapes. This policy would include enforcement measures for underage sales and use revenue from licensing to fund compliance checks–protecting youth and improving public health.

Expanding Access to Preventive Care
We support proper billing for provider management of TennCare’s new coverage of self-measured blood pressure (SMBP) devices for pregnant women. Over time, this preventive measure can improve maternal health and reduce costs for the TennCare program.

Funding Cardiac Emergency Response Plans in Schools
Schools across Tennessee are working to implement cardiac emergency response plans. We’re calling for additional funding to support AED purchases and maintenance—ensuring schools are equipped to respond to cardiac emergencies during the school day and at athletic events.

Advancing Paid Family Leave
We’re advocating to expand Tennessee’s paid leave policy for state employees by broadening the definition of approved caregivers and allowing foster parents to access six weeks of paid leave. These changes would support families during critical life transitions.

Strengthening Tobacco Prevention and Cessation
We’re urging lawmakers to make last year’s tobacco prevention funding recurring and expand TennCare coverage to include group cessation counseling. These steps would help more Tennesseans quit tobacco and reduce tobacco-related disease.

Protecting Tobacco Tax Policy
We’re working to fight legislation that would lower taxes on certain tobacco products marketed as cessation tools.

Driving Local Change
Local communities are leading the way on heart health. This year, we’re supporting:

• Smoke-free air ordinances in Bartlett, Collierville, Germantown, Knoxville, Gallatin, and Murfreesboro to protect hospitality workers and musicians from secondhand smoke in adult-only venues.
• Complete Streets policies in Chattanooga to ensure future road projects include sidewalks, crosswalks, and other features that support safe, active transportation for all users.

Together, these priorities reflect our commitment to building a healthier Tennessee—where every resident has the opportunity to live a longer, stronger life.