2000 -- H 7489
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LC01857
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S T A T E O F R H O D E I S L A N D
IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY
JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2000
____________
A N A C T
RELATING TO PUBLIC OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES -- INSURANCE BENEFITS
It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:
SECTION 1. Sections 36-12-1, 36-12-3, and 36-12-4 of the General Laws in Chapter 36-12 entitled "Insurance Benefits" are hereby amended to read as follows:
36-12-1. Definitions --
The following words, as used in sections 36-12-1 -- 36-12-14, shall have the following meanings:(1) "Employer", means the state of Rhode Island.
(2) "Employee", means all persons who are classified employees as the term "classified employee" is defined under section 36-3-3, and all persons in the unclassified service of the state; and all persons in the nonclassified service who participate or are eligible to participate in the Board of Governors, Board of Regents, and RI Higher Education Assistance Authority Alternate Retirement Plan, provided, however, that the following shall not be included as "employees" under sections 36-12-1 -- 36-12-14:
(i) Part-time personnel whose work week is less than twenty (20) hours a week and limited period and seasonal personnel;
(ii) Members of the general assembly, its clerks, doorkeepers, and pages.
(3) "Dependents", means an employee's spouse and unmarried children under nineteen (19) years of age.
(4) "Retired employee", means all persons retired from the active service of the state, who, immediately prior to retirement, were employees of the state as determined by the retirement board under section 36-8-1, and also all retired teachers who have elected to come under the employees' retirement system of the state of Rhode Island.
(5) "Long-term health care insurance", means any insurance policy or rider advertised, marketed, offered, or designed to provide coverage for not less than twelve (12) consecutive months for each covered person on an expense incurred, indemnity, prepaid, or other basis for one or more necessary or medically necessary diagnostic, preventive, therapeutic, rehabilitative, maintenance, or personal care services, provided in a setting other than an acute care unit of a hospital. The term includes: group and individual policies or riders whether issued by insurers, fraternal benefit societies, nonprofit health, hospital, and medical service corporations; prepaid health plans, health maintenance organizations; or any similar organization. Long-term health care insurance shall not include: any insurance policy which is offered primarily to provide basic medicare supplement coverage; basic hospital expense coverage; basic medical-surgical expense coverage; hospital confinement indemnity coverage; major medical expense coverage; disability income protection coverage; accident only coverage; specified disease or specified accident coverage; or limited benefit health coverage. This list of excluded coverages is illustrative and is not intended to be all inclusive.
(6) "Retiree health care insurance", means the health benefit employees who retire from active service of the state (subsequent to July 1, 1989), who immediately prior to retirement were employees of the state as determined by the retirement board pursuant to section 36-8-1, and all employees of the Board of Regents, and RI Higher Education Assistance Authority who participate or are eligible to participate in the Board's Alternate Retirement Plan, shall be entitled to receive, which shall be equal to semi-private hospital care, surgical/medical care and major medical with a one hundred seventy-five dollar ($175) calendar year deductible. Employees who retire prior to age sixty-five (65) shall, upon the attainment of medicare eligibility, receive hospital care, surgical/medical services, rights and benefits which, when taken together with their federal medicare program benefits (public law 89-97), 42 U.S.C. section 1305 et seq., shall be comparable to those provided for retirees prior to that age. The aforementioned program will be provided on a shared basis in accordance with section 36-12-4.
36-12-3. Deductions from pay - (a) Payments for hospital care and surgical-medical services, rights, and benefits of dependents of employees may be deducted from the state payroll as provided in sections 36-6-12 and 36-6-13. Payments for surgical-medical services, rights, and benefits of all persons in the service of the state, other than employees, as defined in section 36-12-1(2), whether employed, appointed, or elected, and the dependents of persons may also be deducted from the state payroll as provided in sections 36-6-12 and 36-6-13.
(b) Board of Governors, Board of Regents, and RI Higher Education Assistance Authority current and future employees who are entitled to participate in the retired employee health insurance as provided in 36-12-4 shall, while employed, contribute an amount for such health insurance equal to that provided in 36-10-1. The "pick up" provisions provided by 36-10-1.1 shall apply to funds remitted by Board of Governors, Board of Regents, and RI Higher Education Assistance Authority employees.
36-12-4. Coverage of retired employees -- (a) Retired employees.. - Any retired employee shall be entitled to be covered under sections 36-12-1 -- 36-12-5, inclusive, for himself and herself and, if he or she so desires, his or her dependents, upon agreeing to pay the total cost of his or her contract at the group rate for active state employees. Payments of any retired employee for coverage shall be deducted from his or her retirement allowance and remitted from time to time in payment for such contract.
(b) State employees who retire subsequent to July 1, 1989. - Employees who retire subsequent to July 1, 1989, from active service of the state, and who were employees of the state as determined by the retirement board under section 36-8-1 employees of the Board of Governors, Board of Regents, and RI Higher Education Assistance Authority who participate in the Board's Alternate Retirement Plan, shall be entitled to receive for himself or herself a retiree health care insurance benefit as described in section 36-12-1 in accordance with the following formula:
|
Years of |
Employee's |
||
|
Service |
Age |
State's Share |
Share |
|
10-15 |
60 |
50% |
50% |
|
16-22 |
60 |
70% |
30% |
|
23-27 |
60 |
80% |
20% |
|
28+ |
-- |
90% |
10% |
|
28+ |
60 |
100% |
0% |
|
35+ |
any |
100% |
0% |
(c) When the retiree reaches that age which will qualify him or her for Medicare supplement the formula shall be:
|
Years of Service |
State's Share |
Employee's Share |
|
10 - 15 |
50% |
50% |
|
16 - 19 |
70% |
30% |
|
20 - 27 |
90% |
10% |
|
28+ |
100% |
0% |
(d) If the retired employees desires, he or she shall be permitted to purchase coverage for his or her dependents upon agreeing to pay the additional cost of the contract at the group rate for active state employees. Payment for coverage for dependents shall be deducted from his or her retirement allowances and remitted as required in payment for the contract. Payments for retired Board of Governors, Board of Regents, and RI Higher Education Assistance Authority employees shall be remitted to the state directly by the retiree.
(e) Retired employees, including retired teachers, who are non-Medicare eligible and who reach the age of sixty-five (65) shall be allowed to continue to purchase group health care insurance benefits in the same manner as those provided to retired employees who have not reached the age of sixty-five (65).
SECTION 2. This act shall take effect on July 1, 2000.
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LC01857
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EXPLANATION
BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
OF
A N A C T
RELATING TO PUBLIC OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES -- INSURANCE BENEFITS
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This act would extend the retiree health insurance benefits currently available to state retirees to retirees of the Board of Governors, Board of Regents, and RI Higher Education Assistance Authority employees participating in the board's alternate retirement plan.
This act would take effect on July 1, 2000.
