Executive Director’s Page
Summer Review
It has been another busy summer for the State Bar of Texas. We held
an outstanding Annual Meeting in Houston, hosted local and specialty bar
leaders from across the state at our Bar Leaders Conference in Austin,
launched a podcast with Legal Talk Network, and watched an
Astros-Rangers baseball game in Arlington to raise money for veterans’
legal services.
We also closely watched developments along the southern border and
served as a clearinghouse of information and volunteer opportunities for
lawyers who wanted to get involved. (See State Bar President Joe K.
Longley’s column on Page
584 for more information on the border volunteer efforts.)
I’m using my September column to update you on these developments—and to
respond to questions I received about my June column on health
insurance.
Annual Meeting and Podcast
Update
The 2018 State Bar of Texas Annual Meeting attracted more than 1,600
attendees to Houston for two days of engaging CLE sessions and
networking opportunities. Putting on an event this size is a major
undertaking, so I want to thank everyone involved, including the
Houston-based Annual Meeting Committee; all of our speakers, exhibitors,
sponsors, and attendees; the many State Bar sections that organized CLE
breakouts; and the entire State Bar staff—starting with Marketing and
Outreach Manager Susan Brennan and her team.
If you weren’t in Houston with us, then I have the next best thing to
offer you. In addition to our Annual Meeting coverage in the Texas
Bar Journal, which starts on Page
594, you can listen to many of the speakers share key points from
their Annual Meeting presentations on a series of 13 special episodes of
the State Bar of Texas Podcast.
These episodes were recorded onsite with host Rocky Dhir and include
interviews with Craig Ball on preserving mobile device data, Donna
Serdula on how to build your LinkedIn profile, Ron Chichester on AI’s
impact on jobs, and Tiffany Haas and Johanna Schroeder on how to work
with and retain paralegals. You can also hear updates from the State Bar
and Texas Young Lawyers Association from 2016-2017 State Bar President
Frank Stevenson, 2018-2019 TYLA President Sally Pretorius, and State Bar
Directors Erich Birch and Rudy Metayer. Listen to the podcast at texasbar.com/podcast,
legaltalknetwork.com, or
through Apple Podcasts and Google Play.
Law Night at the Ballpark
I’m pleased to report
that nearly 200 people bought tickets to watch the World Champion
Houston Astros play the Texas Rangers on July 3 in Arlington through the
State Bar’s Law Night at the Ballpark event. (I’m also happy to report
that my Astros beat the Rangers, 5-3.) For every ticket purchased
through our event, a $5 donation was made to the Texas Access to Justice
Foundation’s Joe Jamail Endowment for Veteran Legal Services. Thank you
to everyone who attended the game, and to the Texas Rangers for offering
us this opportunity at no cost to the State Bar.
Members Health Plan
Finally, my June column focused on the Members Health Plan, a new
member-owned group health plan launched by Texas Member Benefits Inc.,
the company that administers the Texas Bar Private Insurance Exchange.
As I explained in June, the plan is listed as an option in the exchange
and may provide attractive rates to some members, including solo
practitioners with at least one additional full-time employee. To date,
the new option has generated a lot of excitement and many firms are
starting to participate.
A number of members wrote or called me to ask why the plan doesn’t
cover solos with no full-time employees. The short answer is this:
Adding solos to the plan is a high priority for everyone involved with
the plan, but it’s not economically viable to do so yet.
Chip Trefry, president of Texas Member Benefits Inc., explained it
this way: “Solvency is of the utmost importance to us and to the Texas
Department of Insurance, particularly during the first 12 months of
operation as we build up participation to support the immediate flow of
claims. Every expert that is working on this project has indicated how
essential it is to control risk, especially during the first 12 months.
If not, adverse claims can potentially destroy the plan by exhausting
the reserves before it even gets off the ground.”
Risk management and regulatory factors come into play when considering
who is eligible to participate in the plan, Trefry said. “Currently our
group eligibility requirements are consistent with other fully insured
carriers in the small group health market in Texas. Our goal is that
over time, we can develop additional Members Health Plan options that
cover as much of the total membership as possible, including solos with
no full-time employees. At that time, we intend to work with the Texas
Department of Insurance to bring those options to the membership.”
The State Bar will keep you posted as Member Benefits Inc. continues to
roll out new insurance offerings.
Sincerely,
Trey Apffel
Executive Director, State Bar of Texas
Editor-in-Chief, Texas Bar Journal
(512) 427-1500
@ApffelT on Twitter
Have a question for Trey? Email it to trey.apffel@texasbar.com and he may answer it in a future column.
