An official State of Texas website.
Revision 17-2; Effective April 1, 2017
An applicant/recipient is not eligible to receive Former Foster Care in Higher Education (FFCHE) benefits if the individual currently has adequate health coverage. Adequate health coverage is also known as a third-party resource (TPR). Adequate health coverage is defined as receiving coverage under:
- group health insurance;
- health insurance coverage;
- Medicare (Part A or Part B);
- Medicaid (with the exception of the Healthy Texas Women, Medicaid with Spend Down, and Community Attendant);
- armed forces insurance; or
- a state health risk pool.
Deny an application for an individual who has adequate health coverage.
Do not consider a plan with a limited scope of coverage such as dental, vision, long-term care, etc., or for only a specific illness/disease, such as drug/substance abuse, as adequate health coverage.
Consider an applicant/recipient as having adequate health coverage even if it has limits on benefits or high deductibles.
If staff receive a task with information that the individual has TPR and the “NHIC” box is greyed out, advisors deny rather than pend the EDG. This information has already been verified by the Office of Inspector General – Third Party Liability area.
When an FFCHE applicant is denied due to adequate health care coverage, Form TF0001, Notice of Case Action, will read:
“We found that you already have private health insurance. To learn more about the insurance you already get, call toll-free 1-800-846-7307 (after you pick a language, press 2).”
In some instances, the parents of FFCHE recipients have TPR coverage for them without the individual knowing. If the individual states they are not aware of the TPR, staff should advise them to call the claims administrator’s Third Party Liability Customer Service Line at 1-800-846-7307 and select option 2. This will allow the individual to obtain information regarding their TPR.
If the TPR information in the Texas Integrated Eligibility Redesign System (TIERS) has been verified by the claims administrator but needs to be updated, staff should fax the completed Form H1039, Medical Insurance Input, to the claims administrator at 512-514-4215.