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

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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

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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.