Texas State Capitol in Austin. Credit: Moab Republic/Adobe Stock
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has signed a bill that could cut health benefits costs for some of the state's employers.
The law created by the bill will help employers that are slow to tell health insurers or health maintenance organizations that employees are leaving.
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Today, an employer must pay the departing employee's premiums until the end of the month the employer sent the insurer or HMO the coverage termination notice.
Starting Sept. 1, an insurer or HMO can waive the premium bills for the months between the month an employee left a health plan and the month the employer told the insurer or HMO about the employee's departure.
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If a worker who has left an employer receives covered services after leaving the employer, the employer will still have to pay the premiums for the months in which the departed employee receives covered services.
The bill was introduced by state Sen. Kelly Hancock, R-North Richland Hills, Texas.
The enactment of the law could be sign that an interest in the benefits rules for departing employees are still simmering.
Discussion about the topic could heat up if a cooling economy leads to more layoffs.
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Allison Bell
Allison Bell, a senior reporter at ThinkAdvisor and BenefitsPRO, previously was an associate editor at National Underwriter Life & Health. She has a bachelor's degree in economics from Washington University in St. Louis and a master's degree in journalism from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University. She can be reached through X at @Think_Allison.
