By: Harris S.B. No. 97 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT 1-1 relating to long-term care for public employees. 1-2 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: 1-3 SECTION 1. Subchapter E, Chapter 3, Insurance Code, is 1-4 amended by adding Article 3.50-2A to read as follows: 1-5 Art. 3.50-2A. LONG-TERM CARE FOR PUBLIC EMPLOYEES 1-6 Sec. 1. LONG-TERM CARE BOARD. (a) The Public Employees 1-7 Long-Term Care Board is established. The board consists of: 1-8 (1) the executive directors of the Teacher Retirement 1-9 System of Texas, the Employees Retirement System of Texas, the 1-10 Texas County and District Retirement System, and the Texas 1-11 Municipal Retirement System; and 1-12 (2) seven public members appointed by the governor 1-13 with the advice and consent of the senate. 1-14 (b) The executive directors serve as members of the board by 1-15 virtue of their position as executive directors, and the public 1-16 members serve two-year terms expiring February 1 of each 1-17 odd-numbered year. 1-18 (c) Members of the board annually shall select their 1-19 presiding officers. The board shall meet at the call of the 1-20 presiding officer or as otherwise determined by board policy. 1-21 (d) A member of the board is not entitled to compensation 1-22 for service on the board but is entitled to reimbursement of travel 1-23 expenses incurred in performing the business of the board, as 1-24 provided in the General Appropriations Act. 2-1 Sec. 2. EMPLOYEES AND CONSULTANTS. The board may employ and 2-2 contract with persons to assist it in performing its powers and 2-3 duties under this article and may determine their duties and 2-4 compensation. 2-5 Sec. 3. LONG-TERM CARE COVERAGE. (a) The board shall 2-6 contract with carriers offering long-term care insurance plans and 2-7 enter into health care service plan contracts covering long-term 2-8 care. 2-9 (b) The board shall award contracts to carriers who are 2-10 qualified to provide long-term care benefits and may develop and 2-11 administer self-funded long-term care insurance plans. The board 2-12 may offer one or more long-term care insurance plans or health care 2-13 service plan contracts covering long-term care and may offer 2-14 service or indemnity plans. 2-15 (c) The long-term care insurance plans and health care 2-16 service plan contracts covering long-term care shall include home, 2-17 community, and institutional care. 2-18 (d) A contract entered into under this section is subject to 2-19 competitive bidding. 2-20 (e) The long-term care insurance plans and health care 2-21 service plan contracts covering long-term care shall be made 2-22 available periodically during open enrollment periods determined by 2-23 the board. 2-24 Sec. 4. ENROLLMENT. (a) The board shall establish 2-25 eligibility criteria for enrollment, establish appropriate 2-26 underwriting criteria for potential enrollees, define the scope of 3-1 covered benefits, define criteria to receive benefits, and set any 3-2 other standards the board determines are needed. 3-3 (b) The classes of persons who are eligible to enroll in the 3-4 long-term care program provided by this article are: 3-5 (1) members and annuitants of the Employees Retirement 3-6 System of Texas, their spouses, children, and parents, and their 3-7 spouses' parents; 3-8 (2) members and annuitants of the Teacher Retirement 3-9 System of Texas, their spouses, children, and parents, and their 3-10 spouses' parents; 3-11 (3) members and annuitants of the optional retirement 3-12 program established under Chapter 830, Government Code, their 3-13 spouses, children, and parents, and their spouses' parents; 3-14 (4) members and annuitants of the Judicial Retirement 3-15 System of Texas Plan One, their spouses, children, and parents, and 3-16 their spouses' parents; 3-17 (5) members and annuitants of the Judicial Retirement 3-18 System of Texas Plan Two, their spouses, children, and parents, and 3-19 their spouses' parents; 3-20 (6) members and annuitants of the Texas County and 3-21 District Retirement System, their spouses, children, and parents, 3-22 and their spouses' parents; 3-23 (7) members and annuitants of the Texas Municipal 3-24 Retirement System, their spouses, children, and parents, and their 3-25 spouses' parents; 3-26 (8) members and annuitants, and the spouses, children, 4-1 parents, and spouses' parents of members and annuitants, of any 4-2 other retirement system administered by the state or a political 4-3 subdivision of the state, the governing body of which has 4-4 contracted with the board to provide coverage under this article; 4-5 and 4-6 (9) members of the Texas National Guard and their 4-7 spouses, children, parents, and spouses' parents. 4-8 (c) A potential enrollee must meet the eligibility and 4-9 underwriting criteria established by the board. 4-10 (d) The full cost of enrollment in a long-term care 4-11 insurance plan or in a health care service plan contract covering 4-12 long-term care shall be paid by the enrollees. 4-13 Sec. 5. PUBLIC EMPLOYEES LONG-TERM CARE FUND. (a) The 4-14 public employees long-term care fund is established as a trust fund 4-15 outside the state treasury. 4-16 (b) The comptroller is custodian of the fund and shall make 4-17 payments from the fund at the direction of the board or the board's 4-18 designee. 4-19 (c) The board may set the premiums for any self-funded 4-20 long-term care plan to recover the administrative costs of the 4-21 public employees long-term care program. 4-22 (d) Premiums paid by enrollees, amounts recovered under 4-23 contracts for the implementation of the public employees long-term 4-24 care program established under this article, and investment and 4-25 depository income of the fund shall be credited to the fund. The 4-26 legislature may make appropriations to the fund. 5-1 (e) Money in the fund may be used only for the purpose of 5-2 administering any self-funded long-term care plan developed by the 5-3 board and for paying the administrative expenses of the long-term 5-4 care program. The fund is not subject to legislative 5-5 appropriation, except that the legislature in the General 5-6 Appropriations Act may limit the amount in the fund that may be 5-7 used to pay administrative expenses. 5-8 Sec. 6. INVESTMENT OF FUND. (a) As trustees and 5-9 fiduciaries of the public employees long-term care fund, the board 5-10 may invest assets of the fund in any investment in which an asset 5-11 of a retirement system of which the executive director is a member 5-12 of the board may be invested. The board is subject to the 5-13 investment standard provided by Section 67(a)(3), Article XVI, 5-14 Texas Constitution. 5-15 (b) The board may employ investment staff or contract with 5-16 independent investment managers to manage the investments of the 5-17 public employees long-term care fund. 5-18 Sec. 7. IMPLEMENTATION. The board shall implement the 5-19 long-term care program developed under this article when the board 5-20 determines that it is feasible to do so. 5-21 SECTION 2. If the Public Employees Long-Term Care Board does 5-22 not implement the long-term care program under Article 3.50-2A, 5-23 Insurance Code, as added by this Act, before January 1, 2001, the 5-24 board shall prepare and file a report with the governor, the 5-25 lieutenant governor, and the speaker of the house of 5-26 representatives before that date making its recommendations for the 6-1 resources necessary to implement the program. 6-2 SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 1999. 6-3 SECTION 4. The importance of this legislation and the 6-4 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an 6-5 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the 6-6 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several 6-7 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.