Welcome to TRS-ActiveCare!
Follow these instructions to complete your election to participate.
TRS is excited to welcome you to TRS-ActiveCare! You’re becoming part of a cost-effective health plan that will take excellent care of your employees.
Below, we’ve outlined the steps for completing your notice to participate. You can also review our initial guidance that was released on June 18, 2021.
Once you join, your decision is a five-year (minimum) commitment. Review a visual timeline here.
For districts with a Sept. 1 – Aug. 31 plan year: You must submit an election to participate by Dec. 31 of the year preceding the plan year that you wish to begin participation.
For example, to join for the 2024-25 plan year, we would need your notice by Dec. 31, 2023. As a similar example, if you sent your election to join Feb. 1, 2024, your coverage would still not start until the 2025-26 plan year.
For districts with a different plan year than Sept. 1: a new rule allows for the creation of a short-duration Special Transitional Plan (STP). It gives districts the flexibility to “transition” into TRS’ Sept. 1 to Aug. 31 timeframe.
For example, District A has a plan year that begins Jan. 1 and ends Dec. 31. TRS would work with that district to underwrite health plans that would begin Jan. 1 of 2024 and end August 31, 2024.
- Login to the Reporting Entity (RE) Portal. Only authorized Web Administrators for your employer can grant access and permissions to your employees.
For Web Administrators, see the section “Step 1: Adding a Contact” in the Instructions for Web Administrators for information on adding new users.
Click “Administration” on the navigation bar, which will direct you to a link for Intent. It will look like this:
From there, you’ll be asked to note your intent through a form that looks like this:
- Once you’ve reported your intent, you’ll need to submit a Notice of Election to Participate form. This must contain:
- Reporting entity number
- Documentation showing support from entity’s governing body (i.e. board resolution or meeting minutes)
- Information about the entity’s current medical and prescription health plans. This must include:
- Plan type (PPO, POS, HMO, etc.), including the effective date of each plan
- Average number of employees in each plan
- Average number of covered lives in each plan
- Description of all medical and prescription drug benefits, including effective dates of any changes in each plan
- Total premium rates by family tier for each insured plan, including effective dates of any changes
- Total COBRA rates by family tier for each self-funded plan, including effective dates of any changes
- Required employee contribution rates by family tier for each plan, including effective dates of any changes
- Funding arrangement (fully insured, self-funded, etc.) for each plan
- Total premiums paid by year for each plan, if insured
- Total claims paid by year for each plan
- Employee counts by age, gender, and participation status
- A high cost claimant report
- Any other summary health information that TRS may require
- After this form and the documentation is complete, double check that an authorized signature is on each line.
- Send the form and documentation to TRS-ActiveCareAdmin@trs.texas.gov.
After you submit your completed notice to participate, TRS will reach out to you within one week.
Get to know TRS-ActiveCare better!
- Value of TRS-ActiveCare: Learn the different ways TRS-ActiveCare goes the extra mile for you.
- BCBSTX TRS-ActiveCare site: The official website for all things TRS-ActiveCare. You can review benefits, wellness add-ons, etc. Keep in mind: there may be updates for the next plan year.
- TRS-ActiveCare Benefits Administrator Site: Your stop for all benefits administrator resources for TRS-ActiveCare.
- Express Scripts TRS-ActiveCare Site: Your online resource for prescription drug coverage. Learn about the benefits, network pharmacies and formulary.
- Connect with your local District Ambassador (DA): Your DA is dedicated to learning about your employer’s specific needs and serving as a liaison to TRS.
- TRS-ActiveCare for Employers: This page provides links to more technical information about TRS-ActiveCare administration.
| Desired Effective Dates of Coverage | Due Date for Notice to TRS |
|---|---|
| Jan. 1–Aug. 31, 2026 | July 5, 2025 |
| Feb. 1 – Aug. 31, 2026 | Aug. 5, 2025 |
| March 1 – Aug. 31, 2026 | Sept. 3, 2025 |
| April 1 – Aug. 31, 2026 | Oct. 4, 2025 |
| May 1 – Aug. 31, 2026 | Nov. 3, 2025 |
| June 1 – Aug. 31, 2026 | Dec. 4, 2025 |
| July 1 – Aug. 31, 2026 | Jan. 3, 2025 |
| Aug. 1 – Aug. 31, 2026 | Feb. 3, 2025 |
The district needs to submit notice of its intent to join 90 days prior to the effective date of entering TRS-ActiveCare. This allows time for employee enrollment, file transfers and other technical steps. In addition, claims and other data has to be provided to TRS 180 days prior to the first month of the STP period.