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.