1-1     By:  Woolley (Senate Sponsor - Brown)                 H.B. No. 3089
 1-2           (In the Senate - Received from the House April 28, 1999;
 1-3     April 29, 1999, read first time and referred to Committee on State
 1-4     Affairs; May 7, 1999, reported favorably by the following vote:
 1-5     Yeas 8, Nays 0; May 7, 1999, sent to printer.)
 1-6                            A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 1-7                                   AN ACT
 1-8     relating to long-term care insurance provided for certain public
 1-9     employees, retirees, and their family members.
1-10           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-11           SECTION 1.  Subchapter E, Chapter 3, Insurance Code, is
1-12     amended by adding Article 3.50-2A to read as follows:
1-13           Art. 3.50-2A. TEXAS EMPLOYEES GROUP LONG-TERM CARE INSURANCE
1-14     PROGRAM. (a) In this article:
1-15                 (1)  "Administering firm" means a firm designated by
1-16     the trustee to administer the group long-term care insurance
1-17     program under this article.
1-18                 (2)  "Employee" and "trustee" have the meanings
1-19     assigned by Section 3, Texas Employees Uniform Group Insurance
1-20     Benefits Act (Article 3.50-2, Vernon's Texas Insurance Code).
1-21           (b)  The trustee may establish a group long-term care
1-22     insurance program to provide long-term care insurance coverage for:
1-23                 (1)  an employee, including a retired employee;
1-24                 (2)  a spouse of an employee, including a retired
1-25     employee;
1-26                 (3)  a parent or grandparent of an employee, including
1-27     a retired employee; and
1-28                 (4)  the parent of a spouse of an employee, including a
1-29     retired employee.
1-30           (c)  The trustee may select an administering firm to
1-31     administer the program under contract to the trustee. The
1-32     administering firm shall bill each program participant directly for
1-33     premiums and any other program cost, and the program participant is
1-34     responsible for the required payment. The premiums and program cost
1-35     may not be deducted from an employee's monthly compensation or a
1-36     retired employee's annuity.
1-37           (d)  The group long-term care insurance program is not part
1-38     of the group coverages offered under the Texas Employees Uniform
1-39     Group Insurance Benefits Act (Article 3.50-2, Vernon's Texas
1-40     Insurance Code), and the state may not contribute any part of the
1-41     premiums for coverage offered under this article.  The trustee may
1-42     not implement the group long-term care insurance program under this
1-43     section unless any cost or administrative burden associated with
1-44     the development of, implementation of, or communications about the
1-45     program is incidental.
1-46           (e)  The trustee may adopt rules as necessary to implement
1-47     this article, including rules specifying the coverage to be offered
1-48     under the group long-term care insurance program.
1-49           SECTION 2.  Subchapter E, Chapter 3, Insurance Code, is
1-50     amended by adding Article 3.50-4A to read as follows:
1-51           Art. 3.50-4A.  TEXAS PUBLIC SCHOOL EMPLOYEES GROUP LONG-TERM
1-52     CARE INSURANCE PROGRAM.  (a)  In this article:
1-53                 (1)  "Administering firm" means a firm designated by
1-54     the trustee to administer the group long-term care insurance
1-55     program under this article.
1-56                 (2)  "Active employee," "retiree," "surviving spouse,"
1-57     and "trustee" have the meanings assigned by Section 2, Article
1-58     3.50-4, Insurance Code.
1-59           (b)  The trustee may establish a group long-term care
1-60     insurance program to provide long-term care insurance coverage for:
1-61                 (1)  an active employee or retiree;
1-62                 (2)  a spouse of an active employee or retiree,
1-63     including a surviving spouse;
1-64                 (3)  a parent or grandparent of an active employee or
 2-1     retiree; and
 2-2                 (4)  the parent of a spouse of an employee or retiree,
 2-3     including the parent of a surviving spouse.
 2-4           (c)  The trustee may select an administering firm to
 2-5     administer the program under contract to the trustee. The
 2-6     administering firm shall bill each program participant directly for
 2-7     premiums and any other program cost, and the program participant is
 2-8     responsible for the required payment.  The trustee may not
 2-9     implement the group long-term care insurance program under this
2-10     section unless any cost or administrative burden associated with
2-11     the development of, implementation of, or communications about the
2-12     program is incidental.
2-13           (d)  The group long-term care insurance program is not part
2-14     of the group coverages offered under Article 3.50-4, Insurance
2-15     Code, and the state may not contribute any part of the premiums for
2-16     coverage offered under this article.
2-17           (e)  The trustee may adopt rules as necessary to implement
2-18     this article, including rules specifying the coverage to be offered
2-19     under the group long-term care insurance program.
2-20           SECTION 3.  Section 4, Texas State College and University
2-21     Employees Uniform Insurance Benefits Act (Article 3.50-3, Vernon's
2-22     Texas Insurance Code), is amended by adding Subsection (g) to read
2-23     as follows:
2-24           (g)  An institution may join with the trustee of the program
2-25     established under the Texas Employees Uniform Group Insurance
2-26     Benefits Act (Article 3.50-2, Vernon's Texas Insurance Code) or the
2-27     trustee of the program established under Article 3.50-4, Insurance
2-28     Code, to provide long-term care insurance coverage. Each
2-29     participating trustee and the governing board of the institution
2-30     must mutually agree to join together for this purpose, subject to
2-31     terms that are beneficial to all participants. An institution may
2-32     not participate in an agreement under this subsection unless any
2-33     cost or administrative burden associated with the development of,
2-34     implementation of, or communications about the long-term care
2-35     coverage program is incidental.
2-36           SECTION 4.  The importance of this legislation and the
2-37     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
2-38     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
2-39     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
2-40     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended,
2-41     and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its
2-42     passage, and it is so enacted.
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