Texas 2009 - 81st Regular

Texas House Bill HB1875 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	81R2884 JRJ-D
2	2	By: Truitt H.B. No. 1875
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to requiring a health benefit plan for enrollment at
8	8	certain public institutions of higher education.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Section 51.952, Education Code, is amended to
11	11	read as follows:
12	12	Sec. 51.952. STUDENT HEALTH BENEFIT PLAN REQUIRED FOR
13	13	ENROLLMENT [INSURANCE]. (a) In this section:
14	14	(1) "Health benefit plan" means any health benefit
15	15	plan regulated under the Insurance Code, including:
16	16	(A) an individual, group, or blanket health
17	17	insurance policy; or
18	18	(B) an evidence of coverage issued by a health
19	19	maintenance organization.
20	20	(2) "General academic teaching institution," "medical
21	21	and dental unit," and "university system" have the meanings
22	22	assigned by Section 61.003.
23	23	(b) This section applies only to a student who is enrolled
24	24	at a general academic teaching institution or medical and dental
25	25	unit on a full-time basis, as determined by the institution or unit
26	26	in accordance with criteria adopted by the institution or unit for
27	27	purposes of this section.
28	28	(c) Notwithstanding any other provision of this code and
29	29	except as provided by Subsection (g), to enroll at a general
30	30	academic teaching institution or medical and dental unit for a
31	31	semester or other academic term, a student must submit to the
32	32	institution or unit proof acceptable to the institution or unit
33	33	that the student will for that semester or term be covered by a
34	34	health benefit plan that meets minimum coverage standards and any
35	35	other requirement established by the institution or unit for
36	36	purposes of this subsection.
37	37	(d) A general academic teaching institution or medical and
38	38	dental unit may, directly or through the university system, if any,
39	39	of which the institution or unit is a component, provide to or
40	40	sponsor for one or more of the institution's or unit's students a
41	41	health benefit plan for purposes of this section. In addition to
42	42	any other fee or charge authorized or required by law, an
43	43	institution or unit that provides or sponsors a plan may impose on a
44	44	student enrolling in the plan a charge in an amount not to exceed
45	45	any cost to the institution or unit, including administrative
46	46	costs, in sponsoring or providing the plan in relation to that
47	47	student.
48	48	(e) In satisfying the requirement of Subsection (c), a
49	49	student may select coverage under a health benefit plan provided or
50	50	sponsored by the general academic teaching institution or medical
51	51	and dental unit at which the student intends to enroll or may obtain
52	52	coverage under a plan provided by another entity.
53	53	(f) On written request of a student, the general academic
54	54	teaching institution or medical and dental unit at which the
55	55	student intends to enroll shall provide for financial aid purposes
56	56	a reasonable estimate of the cost of the health benefit plan
57	57	coverage within the student's cost of education. As part of
58	58	financial aid provided to a student by the institution or unit, the
59	59	institution or unit may pay all or part of the student's cost for
60	60	the health benefit plan coverage required by this section.
61	61	(g) To provide a student with sufficient time to obtain
62	62	health benefit plan coverage, a general academic teaching
63	63	institution or medical and dental unit may provisionally enroll for
64	64	not more than one semester or other academic term a student who is
65	65	not covered by a health benefit plan as required by this section.
66	66	(h) Each general academic teaching institution or medical
67	67	and dental unit shall adopt policies and procedures the institution
68	68	or unit considers necessary to carry out this section. The policies
69	69	and procedures must establish:
70	70	(1) criteria for determining whether this section
71	71	applies to a particular student at the institution or unit;
72	72	(2) minimum coverage standards and any other
73	73	requirement for a health benefit plan required under this section,
74	74	regardless of whether the plan is provided or sponsored by the
75	75	institution or unit or another entity;
76	76	(3) the time allowed and manner required for a student
77	77	to submit to the institution or unit proof that the student will be
78	78	covered by a health benefit plan for the applicable semester or
79	79	other academic term;
80	80	(4) a time and manner for the institution or unit to:
81	81	(A) determine whether a student will for the
82	82	applicable semester or other academic term be covered by a health
83	83	benefit plan that meets minimum coverage standards and any other
84	84	requirement established by the institution or unit; and
85	85	(B) notify the student of that determination; and
86	86	(5) standards for the institution or unit to use in
87	87	determining whether proof of health benefit plan coverage submitted
88	88	by a student for purposes of Subsection (c) is acceptable. [The
89	89	governing board of a medical and dental unit may require a student
90	90	enrolled at a medical and dental unit to have in effect during the
91	91	calendar year of enrollment a health insurance policy for health
92	92	care services received by the student.
93	93	[(b) The governing board of a medical and dental unit shall
94	94	determine the minimum coverage standards for health insurance
95	95	required under this section.
96	96	[(c) If the student agrees in writing, the medical and
97	97	dental unit shall provide a reasonable estimate of the cost of the
98	98	health insurance coverage within the student's cost of education
99	99	for financial aid purposes.
100	100	[(d) If a governing board of a medical and dental unit
101	101	requires health insurance coverage for students under Subsection
102	102	(a), a student may be provisionally enrolled at the medical and
103	103	dental unit for one academic session without the coverage in order
104	104	to allow the student time to obtain the coverage.
105	105	[(e) The governing board of a medical and dental unit may
106	106	adopt such other rules and regulations as it determines necessary
107	107	to carry out the purposes of this section.
108	108	[(f) In this section, "governing board" and "medical and
109	109	dental unit" have the meanings assigned by Section 61.003.]
110	110	SECTION 2. The changes in law made by this Act apply to
111	111	enrollment of students at general academic teaching institutions or
112	112	medical and dental units beginning with the 2010 fall semester.
113	113	SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
114	114	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
115	115	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
116	116	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
117	117	Act takes effect September 1, 2009.