The “Healthy Texas” Bill Passes Senate

TEXAS: The new “Healthy Texas” proposal targeting uninsured small businesses was passed in the Senate last week. The bill would allow a special insurance product to be offered to previously uninsured small businesses with at least 30 percent of its eligible employees receiving annual wages of less than 300 percent of the federal poverty level. The bill would require a 60 percent participation rate, and insurers would be responsible for all payments up to an annual threshold of $5,000 per individual. Once that threshold is met, the Healthy Texas Program would cover 80 percent of claims, up to $75,000, through a reinsurance fund for that individual.

Editor’s Note: This is an excerpt from an Aetna News Release to Agents & Brokers received today via email.