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Senate Bill 423 |
Senate Author: Lucio et al. |
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Effective: 5-12-11 |
House Sponsor: Menendez |
Senate Bill 423 amends provisions of the Government Code relating to health insurance coverage and financial assistance for eligible survivors of certain public servants killed in the line of duty. The bill authorizes eligible survivors whose claim for a financial assistance payment was denied or who otherwise did not receive payment on a claim because the individual's employing entity did not timely furnish proof of the individual's death to the board of trustees of the Employees Retirement System of Texas to furnish the proof of death and file a claim not later than September 30, 2011. The bill entitles the eligible survivor to receive the payment that would have been received had proof of death been timely furnished.
Senate Bill 423 also amends provisions entitling eligible survivors of certain law enforcement officers, firefighters, and other public officers killed in the line of duty to purchase or continue to purchase health insurance coverage. The bill extends that entitlement to eligible survivors of certain trainees, prohibits the denial of health insurance benefits to a survivor of an individual who would have been eligible for such benefits when alive on the ground that the survivor was enrolled in group health insurance with another employer as of the date of the individual's death, and entitles an eligible surviving dependent who is a minor child to health insurance coverage until a date later than the dependent's 18th birthday to the extent required by state or federal law. The bill provides a limited opportunity for an eligible survivor of an individual who died on or after September 1, 1993, who did not purchase or receive health insurance coverage or benefits on or before the date of the individual's death, or who did not timely notify the individual's employing entity of the survivor's election to purchase or continue to purchase coverage, to apply for health insurance benefits or coverage not later than September 1, 2012.