Since 1974, the federal Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) has helped employers provide high-quality benefits for millions of Americans and Texans. This important regulatory framework has remained intact for 50 years, providing consistency that allows employers to operate confidently across state lines, minimizing the administrative burdens that would otherwise come with a patchwork of state-level regulations.
However, recent legislation proposed in Texas – Senate Bill 1122 – would impose costly mandates on self-funded ERISA plans, restricting cost-savings and innovation for companies across the Lone Star State that strive to offer competitive, quality health care benefits for their employees. In fact, we know these types of proposals would be costly because state-funded health plans – like the Employee Retirement System of Texas (ERS) and Teacher Retirement System of Texas (TRS) – are exempt from this bill.
For Texans who rely on their employer for health care benefits, coverage costs are expected to increase more than $5 billion over the next decade.
Watch TAB President & CEO Glenn Hamer’s recent testimony before the Texas Senate Committee on Health & Human Services on SB 1122:
Read the letter from a coalition of Texas business leaders urging the Texas Legislature to preserve ERISA benefits here.
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