2025 Texas sessionsRegular and both called sessions have ended. This index covers House and Senate bills, not resolutions. Statuses come from official reports.

2025 · Regular session · Senate bill

SB1307

SB1307 requires the Texas Department of Insurance to produce a public health-coverage reference guide every two years, in consultation with the Health and Human Services Commission.

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Official caption: Relating to a biennial health coverage reference guide developed by the Texas Department of Insurance.

Became law without signatureSource-checked explanation published

Official report lists Senate author(s): Cook, Blanco, Hughes, Perry, Sparks. This does not identify sponsors or amendment drafters.

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Bill explanation published · Version and amendment review scope is stated below · Individual amendment records may not be separately annotated.

Bill highlights

Selected points from the published explanation. Follow each point to its source-linked context; conditions and limits may matter.

SB1307 requires the Texas Department of Insurance to produce a public health-coverage reference guide every two years, in consultation with the Health and Human Services Commission.
Each edition must identify the two-year period it covers, define health insurance and other coverage terms, explain sources of coverage—including employers—and how to obtain it, and describe consumer rights and resources.
The guide must also explain provider networks and in-network versus out-of-network care; the Affordable Care Act's bronze, silver, gold and platinum plan categories; premiums, deductibles, copayments and coinsurance; and how to recognize scams.

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What does it do?

SB1307 requires the Texas Department of Insurance to produce a public health-coverage reference guide every two years, in consultation with the Health and Human Services Commission. It must be posted online and available in print on request. The law required the first edition by January 1, 2026. This is an information requirement, not a new insurance benefit or subsidy. The bill became law without the governor’s signature June 20, 2025, and took effect September 1, 2025. Final law, sections 1–3; Official history.

Each edition must identify the two-year period it covers, define health insurance and other coverage terms, explain sources of coverage—including employers—and how to obtain it, and describe consumer rights and resources. Its shopping guide must compare discount cards and other noninsurance products with insurance, discuss short-term and disease-specific coverage, and compare preferred-provider, exclusive-provider, health-maintenance-organization and point-of-service plans. Final law, section 524A.001(b)(1)–(5).

The guide must also explain provider networks and in-network versus out-of-network care; the Affordable Care Act’s bronze, silver, gold and platinum plan categories; premiums, deductibles, copayments and coinsurance; and how to recognize scams. Other required topics are COBRA’s effect on coverage, federal/state/local assistance programs, dispute resolution with issuers or administrators, complaints to the department, and which coverage matters fall under state versus federal regulation, including ERISA. The bill requires explanations of these existing systems; it does not itself rewrite their eligibility or coverage rules. Final law, section 524A.001(b)(5)–(10).

What changed along the way?

The Senate substitute added consultation with the Health and Human Services Commission and removed the introduced bill’s express reference to health care sharing ministries from the shopping-guide list. It retained the broader requirement to discuss discount cards and other noninsurance health-coverage products. Removing the named example is not an express prohibition on discussing those ministries. The substitute moved the online-and-print publication requirement to its own subsection without dropping it. Introduced bill; Senate substitute; Final law.

The Senate-passed, House committee and enrolled substantive texts match the substitute. The amendment index lists no separate amendments; the material revision was the Senate committee substitute. The January 1, 2026 first-edition deadline remained unchanged. Senate-passed text; House committee text; Text versions; Amendment index.

For the full amendment record, open the official amendment index.

Official bill versions

Compare the published text versions in the official text index. A change is not attributed to a specific amendment here without a verified record.

Who could benefit—and who could bear the costs?

Consumers may gain a single official reference for comparing coverage and finding complaint routes, including a print option for people who cannot readily use the website. The two agencies bear the preparation and consultation work. The act does not guarantee lower premiums, enrollment, claim payment or avoidance of scams; this review verifies the statutory duty and deadline, not whether a particular guide has been issued or how well consumers use it. Final law.

The March 16 introduced fiscal note anticipated no significant state fiscal impact and no local fiscal impact. The March 27 substitute note anticipated no significant state or local fiscal impact, assuming costs could be absorbed using existing resources; it listed both agencies rather than only the insurance department. Neither quantified consumer savings, and the act made no appropriation. Introduced fiscal note; Substitute fiscal note; Final law.

Official sources

Catalog report retrieved 2026-10-25. Check the official record for corrections or later changes.