By Texas teachers it’s decision time: will you enroll yourself or your family in TRS again this year, or will you choose a different plan?
It’s a tough choice to make, and with the Texas teachers insurance deadline quickly approaching August 25 we have some quick tips to help you with your TRS health plans and enrollment decisions.
Who benefits most from TRS?
It used to be that everyone benefitted from TRS, but that is no longer the case. Teachers who only insure themselves on TRS and Teachers nearing retirement will benefit the most by staying on TRS. There are two reasons for this: subsidies and premiums. Texas will provide a subsidy for teachers enrolling in TRS approximately $225/ month (depending on your district) which can only be applied to TRS plans. The subsidy will be taken off of the monthly premium.
For example a teacher enrolling in ActiveCare 1-HD (TRS basic plan) has a monthly premium of $351 – $225 subsidy =$126 monthly premium out of pocket cost for teacher.
Everyone able to participate in TRS has the same pricing structure per plan. This means a teacher nearing retirement will pay the same monthly premium as the young teacher fresh out school. Why is this important? In the traditional insurance marketplace, premiums vary by age. Typically a younger person would have a lower premium than an older person. This has to do with usage rates, as older people tend to use health services more than young. For a teacher nearing retirement, staying on TRS will offer a great savings.
What if you have a spouse or family?
When it comes to insuring your spouse and children on TRS, the costs really begin to skyrocket. The Texas subsidy only applies to the teacher- it does not extend to family members.
The ActiveCare 1-HD premium price for your spouse: $991!
Children: $671!
Family: $1,316!
Those are just monthly premium costs – you still have copays and deductibles to meet once you visit the doctor (if you have any money left)! There are definitely more affordable options out there for your family members.
Moving family members to private plans
Enrolling your spouse and/or children on a private plan will save you hundreds of dollars a month.
Private plans from Blue Cross Blue Shield, Aetna, Humana, Cigna and Medishare similar to ActiveCare 1-HD generally cost between $250-$400 a month depending on your age, which is quite a difference from the $671-$1,316 on TRS ActiveCare 1-HD.
A couple could enroll the teacher on TRS ($126/mo) and the spouse on a similar plan from Blue Cross (~$250/mo) for a total of ~$376/mo. That’s less than half of the $766 they would pay on TRS! And by the way, Blue Cross has more doctors on their plans than ActiveCare does.
A family could find great coverage for the spouse and child for $400-500/mo total instead of an outrageous $1,316/mo on TRS.
The same math also generally holds true for families looking at ActiveCare Select and ActiveCare 2 or the HMO plans. The costs for adding a spouse and children is significantly higher on TRS than what the spouse or child could get from an equivalent private plan.
How do I get started looking for other plans?
Take Command Health designed a first-of-its-kind website just for teachers that allows you to compare all of your options–TRS and private plans in your area–side by side. We can help you choose a TRS plan, and help you see more options for your kids and spouse. We’ll even factor in your district’s contribution amount, help you search for your doctors and prescriptions, and make it really simple to figure out which plans or combination of plans will provide the best coverage for you and your family.
We don’t charge any fees for the use of our teacher site and our advice is data-driven and objective. We think teachers deserve better!
