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House Bill 417 |
House Author: Delisi et al. |
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Effective: 5-27-05 |
Senate Sponsor: Williams |
House Bill 417 amends the Insurance Code to authorize the board of trustees of the Employees Retirement System of Texas to offer a voluntary supplemental health coverage program as an alternative to basic state employees group coverage to certain state employees who are eligible for benefits under the TRICARE Military Health System, the U.S. Department of Defense health care program for active duty and retired members of the uniformed services and their families and survivors. The bill requires that the cost of such supplemental coverage be paid from state, employer, and employee contributions in the same manner as basic coverage under the state employees group benefits plan. The bill authorizes the board to purchase such supplemental coverage and prohibits the board from implementing the program if it would not be cost-effective or otherwise not advantageous to the state or to the program's participants. The bill also authorizes the board to coordinate and implement the program's purchasing, contracting, and administrative functions with certain governmental entities or retirement systems and allows a reduction in the contribution for each program participant to reflect the reduced cost of coverage.