§ 163 — Eligibility for benefits

§ 163. Eligibility for benefits. 1. All persons in the service of the\nstate, whether elected, appointed or employed, who elect to participate\nin such health benefit plan shall be eligible to participate therein,\nprovided, however, that the president may adopt such regulations as he\nor she may deem appropriate excluding temporary, part time or\nintermittent employment.\n 2. The contract or contracts shall provide for health benefits for\nretired employees of the state and of the state colleges of agriculture,\nhome economics, industrial labor relations and veterinary medicine, the\nstate agricultural experiment station at Geneva, and any other\ninstitution or agency under the management and control of Cornell\nuniversity as the representative of the board of trustees of the state\nuniversity of New York, and the state college of ceramics under the\nmanagement and control of Alfred university as the representative of the\nboard of trustees of the state university of New York, and their spouses\nand dependent children as defined by the regulations of the president,\non such terms as the president may deem appropriate, and the president\nmay authorize the inclusion in the plan of the employees and retired\nemployees of public authorities, public benefit corporations, school\ndistricts, special districts, district corporations, municipal\ncorporations excluding active employees and retired employees of cities\nhaving a population of one million or more inhabitants whose\ncompensation is or was before retirement paid out of the city treasury,\nor other appropriate agencies, subdivisions or quasi-public\norganizations of the state, including active members of volunteer fire\nand volunteer ambulance companies serving one or more municipal\ncorporations pursuant to subdivision seven of section ninety-two-a of\nthe general municipal law, and their spouses and dependent children as\ndefined by the regulations of the president. Notwithstanding any law or\nregulation to the contrary, active members of volunteer ambulance\ncompanies serving one or more municipal corporations pursuant to\nsubdivision seven of section ninety-two-a of the general municipal law\nshall be eligible for health benefits regardless of the amount of funds\nderived from public sources. Any such corporation, district, agency or\norganization electing to participate in the plan shall be required to\npay its proportionate share of the expenses of administration of the\nplan in such amounts and at such times as determined and fixed by the\npresident. All amounts payable for such expenses of administration shall\nbe paid to the commissioner of taxation and finance and shall be applied\nto the reimbursement of funds previously advanced for such purposes.\nNeither the state nor any other participant in the plan shall be charged\nwith the particular experience attributable to the employees of the\nparticipant, and all dividends or retroactive rate credits shall be\ndistributed pro-rata based upon the number of employees of such\nparticipant covered by the plan.\n 3. The president shall adopt regulations prescribing the conditions\nunder which an employee or retired employee may elect to participate in\nor withdraw from the plan. Such regulations may also prescribe\nconditions under which an employee whose service terminates and who is\nentitled to a vested retirement allowance may continue to participate in\nthe plan; such condition shall include a requirement that such person\npay the full cost of such coverage following termination of his\nemployment and prior to commencement of the payment of his retirement\nallowance, unless such person becomes currently entitled to, but defers\nreceipt of, a retirement allowance or pension from a retirement or\npension plan or system administered and operated by the state of New\nYork, or a civil division thereof, including the New York state\nteachers' retirement system and the optional retirement programs\nestablished under article three, part V, and article eight-B of the\neducation law.\n 4. Any public authority, public benefit corporation, school district,\nspecial district, district corporation, municipal corporation, or other\nagency, subdivision or quasi-public organization of the state, whose\nemployees and retired employees are authorized to be included in the\nplan as provided by subdivision two, may elect to participate in such\nplan. Any such election shall be exercised by the adoption of a\nresolution by its governing body and, in the case of any municipal\ncorporation where a resolution of its governing body is required by law\nto be approved by any other body or officer, such resolution shall also\nbe approved by such other body or officer. Any such election may be made\nwith respect to inclusion in the plan of both its employees and its\nretired employees at the same time, or may be made only with respect to\nits employees alone and at another time with respect to its retired\nemployees. Any such authority, corporation, district, agency,\nsubdivision or organization making such election shall become a\nparticipating employer under such plan, subject to and in accordance\nwith the regulations of the president relating thereto.\n 5. The chief fiscal officer of any such participating employer shall\nbe authorized to deduct from the wages or salary paid to its employees\nwho are participants in such health benefit plan the sums required to be\npaid by them under such plan. Each such participating employer is\nauthorized to appropriate such sums as are required to be paid by it as\nits share in connection with the operation of such plan.\n 6. The president shall have power and authority to make such\ninspection of the employment and payroll records of any participating\nemployer concerning any of its employees who are participants in the\nhealth insurance fund as he may deem necessary.\n 7. For purposes of eligibility for participation in the health benefit\nplan no person shall be deemed to be a state officer or employee or to\nbe in the service of the state unless his salary or compensation is paid\ndirectly by the state, and no person shall be deemed to be a retired\nofficer or employee of the state unless his salary or compensation\nimmediately preceding his retirement was paid directly by the state;\nprovided, however, that all active and retired justices, judges,\nofficers and employees of the supreme court, surrogate's court, county\ncourt, family court, civil court of the city of New York, criminal court\nof the city of New York and district court in any county, officers and\nemployees of the office of probation for the courts of New York city\nshall be eligible for participation in the health benefit plan whether\nor not their salaries are paid or before retirement were paid directly\nby the state.\n 8. Notwithstanding any other law, rule or regulation to the contrary,\nwhere the state and an employee organization representing state officers\nand employees who are in positions which are in the collective\nnegotiating unit established by chapter four hundred three of the laws\nof nineteen hundred eighty-three enter into a collectively negotiated\nagreement pursuant to article fourteen of this chapter providing that\nofficers and employees who hold positions in such unit on or after April\nfirst, nineteen hundred eighty-four and who immediately upon termination\nfrom such position are eligible to receive a retirement benefit from\neither the New York state or New York city retirement systems shall\ncontinue to be eligible to participate in the employee benefit fund\nestablished by section two hundred six-a of the state finance law, such\nofficers and employees upon retirement shall continue to participate in\nand receive the benefits of such fund as provided in such collectively\nnegotiated agreement and shall not be eligible to receive and shall not\nreceive from the statewide health benefit plan established pursuant to\nthis article coverage for benefits covered by such employee benefit\nfund.\n