Teacher Retirement System of Texas selects FirstCare Health Plans as HMO plan option for TRS-ActiveCare program

AUSTIN, Texas, July 3, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- FirstCare Health Plans announced today that it was once again selected by the Teacher Retirement System of Texas (TRS) as one of three health maintenance organizations (HMO) for the system's TRS-ActiveCare health benefits program.

The new TRS-ActiveCare contract has an initial term that extends through Aug. 31, 2015.  Unless sooner terminated by either party, the contract may extend through Aug. 31, 2020.  FirstCare has been a part of the TRS-ActiveCare program since its inception in 2003. 

"We have a long history with TRS and are proud to partner with them to provide affordable, quality care to the teachers, administrators, and school employees in our community," said FirstCare President and CEO Darnell Dent. "We are very excited to announce that along with our very competitive plans and premiums, we've lowered the PCP office visit copayment and deductible for the new plan year to make it even easier for our valued educators to access care."

FirstCare currently covers more than 20,000 TRS-ActiveCare participants, but that number is expected to grow as a result of a recent service area expansion that adds the following counties: Burleson, Erath, Freestone, Grimes, Lee, Leon, Madison, Navarro, Somervell, and Washington. With the addition of these 10 new counties, FirstCare is now available to TRS participants in 103 Texas counties throughout the north, west, and central regions of Texas.

TRS-ActiveCare is a statewide health coverage program for public education employees, established in 2002 by the 77th Texas Legislature. Today, TRS-ActiveCare covers more than 477,000 public K-12 employees and dependents, spanning 1,127 districts/entities.

About Teacher Retirement System (TRS)
The Teacher Retirement System of Texas (TRS) delivers retirement and related benefits that have been authorized by the Texas Legislature, and manages a $124 billion trust fund established to finance member benefits. More than 1.3 million public education and higher education employees as well as retirees participate in the system. For more information, please visit www.trs.state.tx.us/.

About FirstCare Health Plans
At FirstCare Health Plans, we believe that Texans and our communities should be healthy. As a result, we work with premier doctors and hospitals to provide Texans access to affordable, high-quality care. Since 1985, we've been serving the health care needs of members across North, West, and Central Texas. FirstCare offers a wide range of HMO, PPO, HSA and ASO products through a variety of programs, including: small and large employer plans; state, federal and teacher plans; government programs; and the Health Insurance Marketplace.

With the support of our owners-Covenant Health in Lubbock and Hendrick Health System in Abilene-we now serve approximately 165,000 members. Our corporate headquarters are located in Austin, Texas. We also have offices in Abilene, Amarillo, Lubbock and Waco. For information, please visit www.firstcare.com.

SOURCE FirstCare Health Plans