SRC-AXB S.B. 377 76(R)   BILL ANALYSIS


Senate Research Center   S.B. 377
76R11910  AJA-FBy: Nelson
Health Services
4/12/1999
As Filed


DIGEST 

Currently, Texas, which has over 60 mandates, leads the nation in the total
number of health insurance mandates.  Health insurance mandates are laws
which require insurers and managed care plans to provide specific benefits,
treatments, or reimbursement to certain health care providers. These
mandates drive up health insurance costs, and for every one percent
increase in premiums, 16,000 Texans lose health insurance coverage.  S.B.
377 requires the comptroller to perform costbenefit studies of health care
benefit mandates, and requires the Commissioner of Insurance to adopt rules
to implement a health care benefit mandate. 

PURPOSE

As proposed, S.B. 377 creates review requirements for health care benefit
mandates, and authorizes the Commissioner of Insurance to adopt rules to
implement a health care benefit mandate. 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

Rulemaking authority is granted to the Commissioner of Insurance in SECTION
1 (Article 3.97-5. (a), Insurance Code) of this bill. 

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

SECTION 1.  Amends Chapter 3, Insurance Code, by adding Subchapter K, as
follows: 

SUBCHAPTER K.  REVIEW AND IMPLEMENTATION OF HEALTH CARE BENEFIT MANDATES

Art.  3.97-1.  DEFINITIONS.  Defines "health benefit plan," "health care
benefit mandate," (HC mandate) and "offer of coverage mandate." 

Art.  3.97-2.  ANALYSIS BY COMPTROLLER.  Requires the comptroller to
provide a written analysis of an existing or proposed HC mandate, upon
request by certain authorities. Requires the comptroller to analyze the
existing or proposed HC mandate, and sets forth required considerations of
the analysis. 

Art.  3.97-3.  REPORT ON EXISTING HEALTH CARE BENEFIT MANDATES.  Requires
the comptroller to review and analyze HC mandates by their effective date
of January 1, 2001.  Requires the comptroller to issue a written report of
the comptroller's findings and distribute the report to certain
authorities, and requires the publication of the report on the Internet.
Provides that this article expires December 31, 2001. 

Art.  3.97-4.  ASSESSMENTS.  Authorizes the comptroller to assess expenses
for services rendered in the process of analyzing and preparing written
reports on HC mandates. Requires the comptroller to determine expenses
resulting from the preceding year's analysis and preparation of required
reports, after the end of each fiscal year.  Authorizes the comptroller to
annually assess all health benefit plan sellers, and sets forth the
determining factors of the assessment amount.  Provides for the expiration
of this article September 1, 2003. 

 Art.  3.97-5.  IMPLEMENTATION BY COMMISSIONER.  Requires the Commissioner
of Insurance to strictly construe an HC mandate, and to adopt rules to
implement an HC mandate in strict compliance with Texas and federal law.
Requires the Commissioner of Insurance to consider the comptroller's
analysis in adopting rules, and to prepare an HC mandate prior to
publishing rules which implement the mandate. 
 
SECTION 2.  Effective date:  September 1, 1999.

SECTION 3.  Emergency clause.