TITLE 34. PUBLIC FINANCE
PART 3. TEACHER RETIREMENT SYSTEM OF TEXAS
CHAPTER 41. HEALTH CARE AND INSURANCE PROGRAMS
SUBCHAPTER
A.
The board of trustees of the Teacher Retirement System of Texas (TRS) adopts amended §41.17 relating to the Limited-Time Enrollment Opportunity for Medicare-eligible Retirees, of Subchapter A, Chapter 41, Title 34, Part 3, of the Texas Administrative Code, without any changes to the proposed text as originally published in the May 29, 2026, issue of the Texas Register (51 TexReg 3690). The rule will not be republished.
REASONED JUSTIFICATION
TRS adopts the amendments to §41.17 to open another Limited-Time Enrollment Opportunity for Medicare-eligible retirees and their eligible dependents, surviving spouses and surviving dependent children to return the TRS-Care Medicare Advantage (TRS-Care MA) plan to take advantage of the plan's reduced premiums for the 2027 plan year.
In 2024, TRS created §41.17 after receiving direction from legislative leadership to use the growth in the TRS-Care fund to reduce premiums and allow for a limited-time enrollment opportunity for eligible TRS-Care Medicare Advantage (TRS-Care MA) participants. Rule 41.17 established the enrollment period, eligibility requirements, and coverage effective dates. The enrollment opportunity ran from Oct. 1, 2024, through March 31, 2026.
As the TRS-Care trust fund continues to experience significant growth, TRS is able to maintain low premiums and amends §41.17 to offer another limited-time enrollment opportunity that will begin on Oct. 1, 2026, and end on March 31, 2028. The amendments also make a nonsubstantive change to correct a typographical spacing error in the existing rule language.
COMMENTS
No comments on the proposed amendments were received.
STATUTORY AUTHORITY
Amended §41.17 is adopted under the authority of Chapter 1575 of the Insurance Code, which establishes the Texas Public School Retired Employees Group Benefits Act (TRS-CARE), §1575.052, which allows the trustee to adopt rules, plans, procedures, and orders reasonably necessary to implement Chapter 1575; Chapter 825, Government Code, which governs the administration of TRS, and §825.102 of the Government Code, which authorizes the board of trustees to adopt rules for the transaction of its business.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO STATUTE
Amended §41.17 implements Insurance Code §1575.1582(b), concerning Eligibility for Group Health Benefit Plans.
The agency certifies that legal counsel has reviewed the adoption and found it to be a valid exercise of the agency's legal authority.
Filed with the Office of the Secretary of State on July 23, 2026.
TRD-202603100
Don Green
Chief Financial Officer
Teacher Retirement System of Texas
Effective date: August 12, 2026
Proposal publication date: May 29, 2026
For further information, please call: (512) 542-3528
SUBCHAPTER
C.
The Board of Trustees of the Teacher Retirement System of Texas (TRS) adopts amended §41.38 relating to Termination of Coverage, of Subchapter C, Chapter 41, Title 34, Part 3, of the Texas Administrative Code, without any changes to the proposed text as originally published in the May 29, 2026, issue of the Texas Register (51 TexReg 3692). The rule will not be republished.
REASONED JUSTIFICATION
TRS adopts amendments to §41.38 to delete §41.38(a)(7) to eliminate participants' ability to voluntarily terminate their TRS-ActiveCare enrollment in the middle of the plan year. As trustee of the program, TRS adopts this amendment to protect the fiscal health and stability of the trust fund and, in turn, the interests of all plan participants due to the following factors.
First, allowing a participant to leave TRS-ActiveCare mid-year is inconsistent with industry standards. Enrollees generally must remain in a health plan through the end of the plan year unless a qualifying mid-year life event under HIPAA permits a change, such as termination of employment, reduced work hours, death, divorce, marriage, or the birth or adoption of a child.
Second, allowing TRS-ActiveCare participants to drop coverage during the plan year undermines rate setting and premium collection. TRS sets premiums under the expectation that enrollment will remain consistent during the plan year for which the premium is set. Furthermore, participants who leave after receiving high-cost services stop contributing to the risk pool, increasing premium pressure on those who remain. Likewise, healthier participants who drop coverage for financial reasons shift costs to higher-cost participants and contribute to premium increases in future plan years.
Finally, allowing participants to leave the TRS-ActiveCare program in the middle of the plan year increases the administrative burden of managing the program, driving up administrative costs.
Therefore, TRS adopts the proposed amended §41.38 to remove §41.38(a)(7) from §41.38 and renumber the rest of the rule accordingly.
COMMENTS
No comments on the proposed amended rule were received.
STATUTORY AUTHORITY
Amended §41.38 is adopted under the authority of Chapter 1579 of the Insurance Code, which establishes the Texas School Employees Group Health Act (TRS-ACTIVECARE), §1579.052, which allows the trustee to adopt rules, plans, procedures, and orders reasonably necessary to implement Chapter 1579; Chapter 825, Government Code, which governs the administration of TRS, and §825.102 of the Government Code, which authorizes the board of trustees to adopt rules for the transaction of its business.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO STATUTE
Amended §41.38 implements Insurance Code §1579.052, concerning the Authority to Adopt Rules and Procedures; Other Authority, which authorizes the trustee to adopt rules, plans, procedures, and orders reasonably necessary to implement Chapter 1579, including periods of enrollment and coverage selection and outlines the procedures for enrolling and exercising options under the group program.
The agency certifies that legal counsel has reviewed the adoption and found it to be a valid exercise of the agency's legal authority.
Filed with the Office of the Secretary of State on July 23, 2026.
TRD-202603128
Don Green
Chief Financial Officer
Teacher Retirement System of Texas
Effective date: August 12, 2026
Proposal publication date: May 29, 2026
For further information, please call: (512) 542-3528