By Maxey                                              H.B. No. 1628
         76R13495 PB-D                           
                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 1-1                                   AN ACT
 1-2     relating to requiring a health insurer to provide certain
 1-3     information to governmental entities with which the insurer
 1-4     contracts.
 1-5           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
 1-6           SECTION 1.  Subchapter E, Chapter 21, Insurance Code, is
 1-7     amended by adding Article 21.49-15 to read as follows:
 1-8           Art. 21.49-15.  INFORMATION REQUIRED TO BE PROVIDED BY
 1-9     INSURER TO GOVERNMENTAL ENTITY WITH WHICH INSURER CONTRACTS
1-10           Sec. 1.  DEFINITIONS.  In this article:
1-11                 (1)  "Governmental entity" means a state agency or
1-12     political subdivision of this state.
1-13                 (2)  "Insurer" means:
1-14                       (A)  an insurance company;
1-15                       (B)  a health maintenance organization operating
1-16     under the Texas Health Maintenance Organization Act (Chapter 20A,
1-17     Vernon's Texas Insurance Code); or
1-18                       (C)  an approved nonprofit health corporation
1-19     that holds a certificate of authority issued by the commissioner
1-20     under Article 21.52F of this code.
1-21                 (3)  "Political subdivision" means a county,
1-22     municipality, school district, special purpose district, or other
1-23     subdivision of state government that has jurisdiction limited to a
1-24     geographic portion of the state.
 2-1           Sec. 2.  REQUIRED INFORMATION.  (a)  Each insurer that enters
 2-2     into a contract with a governmental entity that is subject to
 2-3     competitive bidding requirements and under which the insurer
 2-4     delivers, issues for delivery, or renews a policy or contract for
 2-5     health insurance or an evidence of coverage shall provide to the
 2-6     governmental entity a detailed report that includes:
 2-7                 (1)  the claims experience of the governmental entity
 2-8     during the preceding calendar year; and
 2-9                 (2)  the dollar amount of each large claim, as defined
2-10     by the governmental entity, paid by the insurer under the contract
2-11     during the preceding calendar year.
2-12           (b)  Claim information provided by an insurer to the
2-13     governmental entity under this section:
2-14                 (1)  shall be provided in the aggregate, without
2-15     information through which a specific individual covered by the
2-16     health insurance or evidence of coverage may be identified;
2-17                 (2)  may be viewed or used only for contract bidding
2-18     purposes; and
2-19                 (3)  is confidential for purposes of Chapter 552,
2-20     Government Code.
2-21           SECTION 2.  Article 21.49-15, Insurance Code, as added by
2-22     this Act, applies only to a contract entered into on or after the
2-23     effective date of this Act.  A contract entered into before that
2-24     date is governed by the law as it existed immediately before the
2-25     effective date of this Act, and that law is continued in effect for
2-26     that purpose.
2-27           SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 1999.
 3-1           SECTION 4.  The importance of this legislation and the
 3-2     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
 3-3     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
 3-4     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
 3-5     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.