HBA-SEB C.S.H.B. 3007 76(R)BILL ANALYSIS
Office of House Bill AnalysisC.S.H.B. 3007
By: Greenberg
Pensions and Investments
4/27/1999
Committee Report (Substituted)
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE
The federal government provides the Children's Health Insurance Program
(CHIP), which offers health insurance for children in economically
disadvantaged families who cannot afford health coverage. Federal
guidelines make children of state employees ineligible for CHIP. C.S.H.B.
3007 provides a comparable plan for children of state employees who are
members of the Employees Retirement System of Texas and also for the
children of employees of certain public university systems.
RULEMAKING AUTHORITY
It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that rulemaking
authority is expressly delegated to the board of trustees of the Employees
Retirement System of Texas in SECTION 1 (Section 14A, Article 3.50-2,
V.T.C.S.) and to the University of Texas System, the Texas A&M University
System, and the University of Houston System in SECTION 3 (Section 17A,
Article 3.50-3, V.T.C.S.) of this bill.
SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS
SECTION 1. Amends Article 3.50-2, V.T.C.S. (Texas Employees Uniform Group
Insurance Benefits Act), by adding Section 14A, as follows:
Sec. 14A. COVERAGE FOR DEPENDENT CHILDREN OF CERTAIN EMPLOYEES. (a)
Requires the board of trustees of the Employees Retirement System of Texas
(trustee) to use money appropriated for employer contributions to fund 80
percent of the cost of basic coverage for a child meeting certain criteria,
subject to any applicable limit in the General Appropriations Act.
Provides that an eligible child is a dependent of an employee, would be
eligible for benefits under the program established by this state to
implement the state children's health insurance program if the child were
not the dependent of the employee, and is not eligible for the state
Medicaid program.
(b) Requires the trustee to identify employees who may be eligible for
dependent child coverage and to notify the employee that the employee may
be eligible for coverage and that the employee may apply for the coverage.
(c) Requires an employee who desires dependent child coverage to apply to
the Texas Department of Human Services (DHS) or other agency designated by
the Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) to perform eligibility
screening. Requires the eligibility screening to be coordinated with
eligibility screening for the state Medicaid program. Requires the agency
that performs the screening to certify to the trustee in writing whether
the child is eligible for dependent child care coverage.
(d) Authorizes an employee to apply for the coverage during the applicable
annual open enrollment period if the employee does not obtain dependent
child coverage at the time the employee is initially employed. Authorizes
the trustee to continue the coverage until the next applicable enrollment
period without regard to any change in the child's status. Authorizes the
trustee to adopt rules requiring an employee, during the period the
coverage is in effect, to report a change in status that would make the
child ineligible for coverage and to terminate the coverage on receipt of
the report of a change in status.
(e) Authorizes the trustee to require an employee to re-apply for
dependent child coverage during each applicable annual enrollment period.
Requires the trustee and DHS or other agency designated by HHSC to
cooperate to develop a cost-effective method for annual re-evaluation of
eligibility determinations for dependent child coverage.
(f) Authorizes the trustee to pay a higher percentage of the cost of basic
coverage for an eligible child if money becomes available for that purpose,
notwithstanding Subsection (a).
SECTION 2. Amends Section 15(b), Article 3.50-2, V.T.C.S. (Texas Employees
Uniform Group Insurance Benefits Act), to authorize the state to contribute
a greater amount for dependent children described by Section 14A(a) of this
Act than the state contributes for group coverages for other dependent
children.
SECTION 3. Amends Article 3.50-3, V.T.C.S. (Texas State College and
University Employees Uniform Insurance Benefits Act), by adding Section
17A, as follows:
Sec. 17A. COVERAGE FOR DEPENDENT CHILDREN OF CERTAIN EMPLOYEES. Requires
an institution to use money appropriated for employer contributions to fund
80 percent of the cost of basic coverage for a child meeting certain
criteria, subject to any limit in the General Appropriations Act. The term
"institution" refers to the University of Texas System, the Texas A&M
University System, and the University of Houston System. Makes conforming
changes with respect to eligibility requirements, employee contributions,
identification of eligible employees, eligibility screening, and the
enrollment process.
SECTION 4. Amends Section 13, Article 3.50-3, V.T.C.S. (Texas State
College and University Employees Uniform Group Insurance Benefits Act), to
make conforming changes with respect to state contributions.
SECTION 5. Effective date: September 1, 1999.
Makes application of Section 14A, Article 3.50-2, V.T.C.S., and
Section 17A, Article 3.50-3, V.T.C.S., as added by this
Act, prospective to fiscal year 2001.
SECTION 6. Emergency clause.
COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE
The substitute modifies the original in SECTION 1 by modifying proposed
Section 14A, Article 3.50-2, V.T.C.S., to modify proposed Subsection (a),
to delete proposed Subsections (b) and (e), to redesignate proposed
Subsections (c) and (d) to Subsections (b) and (c), to add new text for
Subsections (d) and (e), and to provide a new Subsection (f), as follows:
Proposed Subsection (a) is modified to require the board of trustees of the
Employees Retirement System of Texas (trustee) to use money appropriated
for employer contributions to fund 80 percent of the cost of basic coverage
for a child meeting certain criteria, subject to any applicable limit in
the General Appropriations Act. The original would have required the
trustee to use the money to fund basic coverage for the child, without the
80 percent specification. Proposed Subsection (a) also modifies a child's
eligibility criteria. The substitute provides that an eligible child is a
dependent of an employee, would be eligible for benefits under the program
established by this state to implement the state children's health
insurance program (CHIP) if the child were not the dependent of the
employee, and is not eligible for the state Medicaid program. The original
would not have set forth the CHIP provision and would have also established
that an eligible child be under 18 years of age and have a family income of
less than 200 percent of the poverty level.
Subsection (b), as redesignated from Subsection (c), makes conforming and
nonsubstantive changes.
Proposed Subsection (b) of the original, which is now deleted, would have
prohibited the employee from being required to contribute any amount for
dependent child coverage.
Subsection (d), the text of which is added, authorizes an employee to
apply for dependent child coverage during the applicable annual open
enrollment period if the employee does not obtain dependent child coverage
at the time the employee is initially employed. Subsection (d) authorizes
the trustee to continue the coverage until the next applicable enrollment
period without regard to any change in the child's status, to adopt rules
requiring an employee, during the period the coverage is in effect, to
report a change in status that would make the child ineligible for
coverage, and to terminate the coverage on receipt of the report of a
change in status.
Subsection (e), the text of which is added, authorizes the trustee to
require an employee to re-apply for dependent child coverage during each
applicable annual enrollment period. Subsection (e) requires the trustee
and the Texas Department of Human Services or other agency designated by
the Health and Human Services Commission to cooperate to develop a
cost-effective method for annual re-evaluation of eligibility
determinations for dependent child coverage.
Proposed Subsection (e) of the original, which is now deleted, would have
required the trustee to ensure that, under any contract implementing basic
coverage under this Act, a determination that a child is eligible for
coverage is a change in status that entitles the employee to enroll the
child in the coverage without regard to any enrollment period requirement
that would have otherwise applied.
Subsection (f) is added to authorize the trustee to pay a higher percentage
of the cost of basic coverage for an eligible child if money becomes
available for that purpose.
The substitute modifies the original in SECTION 3 to make changes that
conform exactly to the changes in SECTION 1 with respect to dependent
coverage for a child of an employee of an institution, meaning a child of
an employee of the University of Texas System, the Texas A&M University
System, and the University of Houston System.
The substitute modifies the original by adding a new SECTION 5 to set forth
the effective date and to make the application of Section 14A, Article
3.50-2, V.T.C.S., and Section 17A, Article 3.50-3, V.T.C.S., as added by
this Act, prospective to fiscal year 2001.
The substitute redesignates the emergency clause from SECTION 5 of the
original to SECTION 6 of the substitute and changes it from the long
version in the original to the short version in the substitute.