HBA-MPM H.B. 1179 76(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 1179
By: Rangel
Pensions and Investments
3/23/1999
Introduced


BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

Current law requires health insurance programs offered to public school
employees by school districts to be comparable to the state's health
insurance program.  The Teacher Retirement System (TRS) is responsible for
certifying each district's program as comparable to the state plan.  A plan
is comparable if the district offers one option or plan within its program
of insurance that is comparable to state benefits regardless of cost or
participation in the plan.  Each plan is compared individually to the state
plan based on a "benefit replacement ratio," which measures such factors as
deductibles, copays, coinsurance costs, lifetime maximums, and the schedule
of benefits.  The TRS recently found that 44 percent of Texas school
districts are not in compliance with this law. H.B. 1179 requires each
school district to provide its employees with health plan options that
maintain a standard of 95 percent comparability to the state's health
insurance plan.  This bill further adds the cost of coverage as a factor in
determining comparability and authorizes the commissioner of education to
initiate a special accreditation investigation when a district is found to
be out of compliance with this Act. 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that rulemaking
authority previously delegated to the board of trustees of the Teacher
Retirement System of Texas is modified in SECTION 1 (Section 22.004(a)) of
this bill. 

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

SECTION 1.  Amends Section 22.004(a), Education Code, to require each
school district to provide, rather than to make available, to its employees
group health coverage provided by a risk pool established by one or more
districts under Chapter 172, Local Government Code, or under a policy of
insurance or group contract issued by an insurer, a company subject to
Chapter 20 (Group Hospital Service), Insurance Code, or a health
maintenance organization under the Texas Health Maintenance Organization
Act (Chapter 20A), V.T.C.S.).  Requires the board of trustees (board) of
the Teacher Retirement System of Texas to adopt rules to determine whether
a district's group health coverage maintains a standard of comparability of
at least 95 percent based on each individual health plan option offered in
the district and a composite average of all individual health plan options
offered in the district when compared to the basic health coverage, rather
than requiring the board to adopt rules to determine if the coverage is
comparable to basic health coverage.  Adds the employee cost of coverage to
factors that must be considered in determining whether the district's
coverage is comparable to the basic health coverage.  Redesignates existing
Subdivision (7) to Subdivision (8). 

SECTION 2.  Amends Section 39.075(a), Education Code, to include among the
circumstances under which the commissioner of education shall authorize
special accreditation investigations to be conducted, instances when a
district is found to be out of compliance with Section 22.044 (Group Health
Benefits for School Employees).  Makes a nonsubstantive change. 

SECTION 3.  Makes Sections 22.004 and 39.075, Education Code, prospective
beginning with the 1999-2000 school year. 

SECTION 4.  Emergency clause.
            Effective date:  90 days after adjournment.