HBA-NRS H.B. 2146 77(R)BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 2146
By: Chisum
Insurance
7/17/2001
Enrolled



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

Small businesses are facing increasingly expensive employee health
insurance premiums. A substantial claim by one employee can increase the
rate of premiums paid by the employer for all employees. Prior to the 77th
Legislature, state law did not require an issuer of group health benefit
plans to provide a small employer with the claims cost information of the
employees covered by a group health benefit plan. Consequently, the
employer could not verify the legitimacy of rate increases, thereby
hindering the ability of the employer to evaluate alternatives to health
insurance providers. House Bill 2146  requires the issuer of a group health
benefit plan to provide a small employer with claims cost information of
the small employer's employees covered by the plan. 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does
not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state
officer, department, agency, or institution. 

ANALYSIS

House Bill 2146 amends the Insurance Code to require the issuer of a group
health benefit plan that is issued to the employees of one or more
employers that sponsor the plan to provide to the employer the claims cost
information for employees covered by the plan during the preceding calendar
year. The bill provides that the information must be reported separately
for each month during which the plan was in effect. The bill authorizes
claims cost information to be provided either in the aggregate or on a
detailed basis, but prohibits the inclusion of any information through
which a specific individual enrolled in the group health benefit plan may
be identified or diagnosis codes or other information through which a
diagnosis of a specific individual enrolled in the group health benefit
plan may be identified.  The bill authorizes the employer to use the
information only for purposes relating to obtaining and maintaining group
health benefit plan coverage for the employer's employees. 

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2001. The Act applies only to a group health benefit plan that
is delivered, issued for delivery, or renewed on or after January 1, 2002.