Highlights 77th Texas Legislature - Senate

_______________________ E DUCATION/Public
DUCATION/Public
77 th Texas Legislature
employees operated by the Teacher Retirement System (TRS). The state will contribute about $900 per
school employee for health insurance.
Authorizes TRS to operate a health insurance program for employees of school districts, educational
districts, charter schools, and regional education service center (employers).
Requires school districts and centers with 500 or fewer employees to participate in the program beginning
September 1, 2002. Allows school districts with between 500 and 1,000 employees to participate
beginning September 1, 2002. Allows school districts with more than 500 employees to participate
beginning September 1, 2005, unless TRS determines it can serve these districts earlier. Allows a risk pool
in operation before January 1, 2001, which insures 500 or fewer school employees, to participate in the
plan.
Allows self-insured ISDs and education service centers with fewer than 500 employees to opt-out of the
plan.
Allows a school district with a contract for health insurance to join the pool at the end of its contract.
Requires enrollment in catastrophic care coverage of all full- and part-time employees who are members of
TRS unless the employee waives coverage, selects a higher level of insurance coverage, or is expelled.
Establishes the Texas school employees uniform group coverage trust fund.
Provides state aid of $900 per year per employee to employers through the school finance formula to assist
in purchasing group health insurance.
Requires school districts to make a contribution to the plan and employees to pay cost of coverage choices
that exceeds the state and district contribution unless the district chooses to pay some or all of the
employee share.
Authorizes TRS to distribute in equal monthly payments $1,000 per year per employee to each employer to
hold in trust for its employees’ benefit.
Requires an employer with a cafeteria plan of benefits to deposit the state contribution in the cafeteria plan
and allow its employees to choose benefit options that must include medical saving accounts, health care
reimbursement accounts, additional benefits, or treatment as supplemental compensation.
Requires employers without cafeteria plans to distribute these payments as supplemental compensation.
Requires each employer to maintain at least its current level of health insurance contributions, defined as
the total cost of insurance per employee in 2000-2001 school year multiplied by the number of employees
in a later school year.
Senate Research Center 99