Bill Text: TX HCR60 | 2013-2014 | 83rd Legislature | Introduced


Bill Title: Urging the United States Congress to modify the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to allow cost-sharing payments and premium tax credits to be made available to the Texas political subdivision health care benefit pools on the same basis as those for health plans participating in the new federal exchange.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2013-04-23 - Committee report sent to Calendars [HCR60 Detail]

Download: Texas-2013-HCR60-Introduced.html
  83R7119 BPG-D
 
  By: Zerwas H.C.R. No. 60
 
 
 
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
         WHEREAS, In 1989, the State of Texas authorized the creation
  of public entity benefit pools to allow municipalities and counties
  to combine resources to provide affordable employee benefits; and
         WHEREAS, Two major health care benefit pools have been
  created in Texas to provide affordable health care to tens of
  thousands of Texas families who could not otherwise obtain such
  coverage; currently, the TML Intergovernmental Employee Benefits
  Pool provides benefit coverage to the employees and families of
  more than 800 member political subdivision entities, the majority
  of which have fewer than 50 employees; the Texas Association of
  Counties Health and Employee Benefits Pool, the largest benefits
  pool for county employees in the nation, provides coverage for
  employees of most Texas counties; and
         WHEREAS, These major pools in Texas are providing
  high-quality health care coverage at a cost that is considerably
  less than the national average, and their scope exceeds that of the
  essential health benefits coverage mandated by the new federal
  health care law; and
         WHEREAS, Unfortunately, the new federal law inadvertently
  created a strong incentive for political subdivisions to consider
  dropping coverage for their employees; the law provides that no
  employer with fewer than 50 employees will face any penalties for
  dropping health care coverage altogether, and beginning in 2014,
  new federally authorized health care exchanges will offer health
  care coverage with generous cost-sharing subsidies and premium tax
  credits for individuals and families with incomes of up to 400
  percent of the federal poverty level; and
         WHEREAS, If the Texas health benefits pools were made
  eligible to receive cost-sharing and premium tax credit assistance
  under the same formula as federal exchange plans, the cost to the
  federal government would be lower due to the lower cost of the
  benefits provided by the Texas health care pools; for this same
  reason, political subdivision employees would also save money on
  health care coverage; now, therefore, be it
         RESOLVED, That the 83rd Legislature of the State of Texas
  hereby respectfully urge the United States Congress to modify the
  Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to allow cost-sharing
  payments and premium tax credits to be made available to the Texas
  political subdivision health care benefit pools on the same basis
  and under the same formula as such payments and credits will be made
  available to health plans participating in the new federal
  exchange; and, be it further
         RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official
  copies of this resolution to the president of the United States, to
  the president of the Senate and the speaker of the House of
  Representatives of the United States Congress, and to all the
  members of the Texas delegation to Congress with the request that
  this resolution be officially entered in the Congressional Record
  as a memorial to the Congress of the United States of America.
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