H.B. No. 138 establishes the Health Impact, Cost, and Coverage Analysis Program within the Texas Insurance Code by adding Subchapter J. This program is tasked with preparing analyses of legislative documents that introduce new mandates on health benefit plan issuers or administrators. It defines key terms such as "analysis program," "enrollee," and "health care provider," and allows legislative leaders to request analyses of proposed legislation at any time. The program will evaluate the potential impacts of such legislation on public health, health coverage costs, and administrative expenses.

To support the program, the bill authorizes the comptroller to impose an annual fee on health benefit plan issuers, with exemptions for certain plans, based on the number of covered lives. It also requires the issuance of special data calls to estimate administrative expenses related to the analyzed legislation. The Center for Health Care Data is mandated to prepare and deliver reports within specified timeframes, ensuring accessibility while maintaining confidentiality of individual issuer responses. Additionally, the bill includes conflict of interest provisions for employees involved in the program and requires a cost estimate for the program to be submitted by January 1, 2026. The bill will take effect immediately upon a two-thirds vote or on September 1, 2025, if that threshold is not met.

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