Texas § 526.0157 INCREASING ACCESS TO HEALTH BENEFITS COVERAGE.

Texas Statutes

§ 526.0157 — INCREASING ACCESS TO HEALTH BENEFITS COVERAGE.

Texas § 526.0157

Code GVGovernment Code

This text of Texas § 526.0157 (INCREASING ACCESS TO HEALTH BENEFITS COVERAGE.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook

Tex. Government Code Code Ann. § 526.0157 (2026).

Text

Sec. 526.0157. INCREASING ACCESS TO HEALTH BENEFITS COVERAGE.

(a)Except as otherwise provided by the terms of a waiver authorized by Section 526.0152 , money in the fund that is available to reduce the number of individuals in this state who do not have health benefits coverage or to reduce the need for uncompensated health care provided by hospitals in this state may be used for purposes relating to increasing access to health benefits coverage for individuals with low income, including:

(1)providing premium payment assistance to those individuals through a premium payment assistance program developed under this section;

(2)making contributions to health savings accounts for those individuals; and

(3)providing other financial assistance to those individuals through alternate mechanism

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Sec. 526.0157. INCREASING ACCESS TO HEALTH BENEFITS COVERAGE. (a) Except as otherwise provided by the terms of a waiver authorized by Section 526.0152 , money in the fund that is available to reduce the number of individuals in this state who do not have health benefits coverage or to reduce the need for uncompensated health care provided by hospitals in this state may be used for purposes relating to increasing access to health benefits coverage for individuals with low income, including:
(1) providing premium payment assistance to those individuals through a premium payment assistance program developed under this section;
(2) making contributions to health savings accounts for those individuals; and
(3) providing other financial assistance to those individuals through alternate mechanisms established by hospitals in this state or political subdivisions of this state that meet certain commission-specified criteria.
(b) The commission and the Texas Department of Insurance shall jointly develop a premium payment assistance program designed to assist individuals described by Subsection (a) in obtaining and maintaining health benefits coverage. The program may provide assistance in the form of payments for all or part of the premiums for that coverage. In developing the program, the executive commissioner shall adopt rules establishing:
(1) eligibility criteria for the program;
(2) the amount of premium payment assistance that will be provided under the program;
(3) the process by which that assistance will be paid; and
(4) the mechanism for measuring and reporting the number of individuals who obtained health insurance or other health benefits coverage as a result of the program.
(c) The commission shall implement the premium payment assistance program developed under Subsection (b), subject to availability of money in the fund for that purpose.