In most cases, your health insurance must cover a list of certain services such as cancer screenings even if you get it from your employer. The proposed Texas House Bill 139 could remove that requirement and let a company provide an “Employer Choice of Benefits Plan” that does not provide all those state-mandated services.
The bill was filed by Rep. Jay Dean, R-Longview, who is the chair of the House Committee on Insurance. Dean’s office did not respond to questions from the American-Statesman on the bill.
What are state-mandated services?
State-mandated services include:
- Providing coverage for newborn children, students, adopted children and certain grandchildren. This includes children up to age 26.
- Supplies and services for diabetes care
- Serious mental illness coverage
- Childhood vaccines
- Hearing screenings
- Covering an out-of-network specialist when an in-network specialist is not available
- Cancer screenings, including mammograms, colonoscopy or other colon cancer screenings, pap smears and prostate cancer screenings.