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Senate Bill 1444 |
Senate Author: Taylor et al. |
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Effective: 9-1-21 |
House Sponsor: Bonnen |
Senate Bill 1444 amends the Insurance Code to authorize an entity participating in the uniform group coverage program for active school employees, effective September 1, 2022, to elect to discontinue the entity's participation in the program by providing written notice to the Teacher Retirement System of Texas (TRS) by a certain date. The entity making such an election may not elect to participate in the program until the fifth anniversary of the effective date of the entity's election to discontinue participation and may not again elect to discontinue participation after resuming participation until the fifth anniversary of the effective date of election to resume participation.
Senate Bill 1444 provides that, effective September 1, 2022, an entity that elects to participate in the program must provide written notice to TRS not later than December 31 of the year preceding the first day of the plan year in which the election will be effective. An entity may not elect to discontinue participation until the fifth anniversary of the effective date of the entity's election to participate. A participating entity may not offer or make available to the entity's employees or their dependents group health coverage not provided under the program.
Senate Bill 1444 requires each regional education service center to establish a regional school district health coverage advisory committee to conduct a study assessing health care needs of and health coverage options currently available to employees of public school districts served by that service center and assessing alternative health coverage options that may be available. The bill requires each committee to submit a written report on the study to the governor, the lieutenant governor, the speaker of the house of representatives, each standing committee of the senate or house having primary jurisdiction over public education or public retirement systems, the commissioner of the Texas Education Agency, and the executive director of TRS.