2006 Kentucky Revised Statutes - .702   Group hospital and medical insurance and managed care plan coverage.

61.702 Group hospital and medical insurance and managed care plan coverage. (1) (a) The board of trustees of Kentucky Retirement Systems shall arrange by appropriate contract or on a self-insured basis to provide a group hospital and medical insurance plan for present and future recipients of a retirement allowance from the Kentucky Employees Retirement System, County Employees Retirement System, and State Police Retirement System, except as provided in subsection (8) of this section. The board shall also arrange to provide health care coverage through an insurer licensed pursuant to Subtitle 38 of KRS Chapter 304 and offering a managed care plan as defined in KRS 304.17A-500, as an alternative to group hospital and medical insurance for any person eligible for hospital and medical benefits under this section. Any person who chooses coverage under a managed care plan shall pay, by payroll deduction from the retirement allowance or by another method, the difference in premium between the cost of the managed care plan coverage and the benefits to which he would be entitled under this section. (b)  The board may authorize present and future recipients of a retirement allowance from any of the three (3) retirement systems to be included in the state employees' group for hospital and medical insurance and shall provide benefits for recipients equal to those provided to state employees having the same Medicare hospital and medical insurance eligibility status, except as provided in subsection (8) of this section. Notwithstanding the provisions of any other statute, recipients shall be included in the same class as current state employees in determining medical insurance policies and premiums. (c)  For recipients of a retirement allowance who are not eligible for the same level of hospital and medical benefits as recipients living in Kentucky having the same Medicare hospital and medical insurance eligibility status, the board shall provide a medical insurance reimbursement plan as described in subsection (7) of this section. (2) Each employer participating in the State Police Retirement System as provided for in KRS 16.510 to 16.652, each employer participating in the County Employees Retirement System as provided in KRS 78.510 to 78.852, and each employer participating in the Kentucky Employees Retirement System as provided for in KRS 61.510 to 61.705 shall contribute to the Kentucky Retirement Systems insurance fund the amount necessary to provide hospital and medical insurance as provided for under this section. Such employer contribution rate shall be developed by appropriate actuarial method as a part of the determination of each respective employer contribution rate to each respective retirement system determined under KRS 61.565. (3) (a)  The premium required to provide hospital and medical benefits under this section shall be paid: 1. Wholly or partly from funds contributed by the recipient of a retirement allowance, by payroll deduction, or otherwise; 2. Wholly or partly from funds contributed by the Kentucky Retirement Systems insurance fund; 3. Wholly or partly from funds contributed by another state-administered retirement system under a reciprocal arrangement, except that any portion of the premium paid from the Kentucky Retirement Systems insurance fund under a reciprocal agreement shall not exceed the amount that would be payable under this section if all the member's service were in one (1) of the systems administered by the Kentucky Retirement Systems; 4. Partly from subparagraphs 1., 2., or 3., except that any premium for hospital and medical insurance over the amount contributed by the Kentucky Retirement Systems insurance fund or another state- administered retirement system under a reciprocal agreement shall be paid by the recipient. If the board provides for cross-referencing of insurance premiums, the employer's contribution for the working member or spouse shall be applied toward the premium, and the Kentucky Retirement Systems insurance fund shall pay the balance, not to exceed the monthly contribution. 5. In full from the Kentucky Retirement Systems insurance fund for all recipients of a retirement allowance from any of the three (3) retirement systems where such recipient is a retired former member of one (1) or more of the three (3) retirement systems (not a beneficiary or dependent child receiving benefits) and had two hundred and forty (240) months or more of service upon retirement. Should such recipient have less than two hundred forty (240) months of service but have at least one hundred eighty (180) months of service, seventy-five percent (75%) of such premium shall be paid from the insurance fund provided such recipient agrees to pay the remaining twenty-five percent (25%) by payroll deduction from his retirement allowance or by another method. Should such recipient have less than one hundred eighty (180) months of service but have at least one hundred twenty (120) months of service, fifty percent (50%) of such premium shall be paid from the insurance fund provided such recipient agrees to pay the remaining fifty percent (50%) by payroll deduction from his retirement allowance or by another method. Should such recipient have less than one hundred twenty (120) months of service but have at least forty-eight (48) months of service, twenty-five percent (25%) of such premium shall be paid from the insurance fund provided such recipient agrees to pay the remaining seventy-five percent (75%) by payroll deduction from his retirement allowance or by another method. Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this subsection, an employee participating in one (1) of the retirement systems administered by the Kentucky Retirement Systems who becomes disabled in the line of duty as defined in KRS 16.505(19) or KRS 61.621, shall have his premium paid in full as if he had two hundred forty (240) months or more of service. Further, an employee participating in one (1) of the retirement systems administered by the Kentucky Retirement Systems who is killed in the line of duty as defined in KRS 16.505(19) or KRS 61.621, shall have the premium for the beneficiary, if the beneficiary is the member's spouse, and for each dependent child paid so long as they individually remain eligible for a monthly retirement benefit. "Months of service" as used in this section shall mean the total months of combined service used to determine benefits under any or all of the three (3) retirement systems, except service added to determine disability benefits shall not be counted as "months of service." For current and former employees of the Council on Postsecondary Education who were employed prior to January 1, 1993, and who earn at least fifteen (15) years of service credit in the Kentucky Employees Retirement System, "months of service" shall also include vested service in another retirement system other than the Kentucky Teachers' Retirement System sponsored by the Council on Postsecondary Education. (b) For a member electing insurance coverage through the Kentucky Retirement Systems, "months of service" shall include, in addition to service as described in paragraph (a) of this subsection, service credit in one of the other state- administered retirement plans. 1. Effective August 1, 1998, the Kentucky Retirement Systems shall compute the member's combined service, including service credit in another state-administered retirement plan, and calculate the portion of the member's premium to be paid by the insurance fund, according to the criteria established in paragraph (a) of this subsection. Each state- administered retirement plan annually shall pay to the insurance fund the percentage of the system's cost of the retiree's monthly contribution for single coverage for hospital and medical insurance which shall be equal to the percentage of the member's number of months of service in the other state-administered retirement plan divided by his total combined service. The amounts paid by the other state-administered retirement plans and the insurance fund shall not be more than one hundred percent (100%) of the monthly contribution adopted by the respective boards of trustees. 2. A member may not elect coverage for hospital and medical benefits under this subsection through more than one (1) of the state- administered retirement plans. 3. A state-administered retirement plan shall not pay any portion of a member's monthly contribution for medical insurance unless the member is a recipient or annuitant of the plan. (4) (a) Group rates under the hospital and medical insurance plan shall be made available to the spouse, each dependent child, and each disabled child, regardless of the disabled child's age, of a recipient who is a former member or the beneficiary, if the premium for the hospital and medical insurance for the spouse, each dependent child, and each disabled child, or beneficiary is paid by payroll deduction from the retirement allowance or by another method. A child shall be considered disabled if he has been determined to be eligible for federal Social Security disability benefits. (b)  The other provisions of this section notwithstanding, the insurance fund shall pay a percentage of the monthly contribution for the spouse and for each dependent child of a recipient who was a member of the General Assembly and is receiving a retirement allowance based on General Assembly service, of the Kentucky Employees Retirement System and determined to be in a hazardous position, of the County Employees Retirement System, and determined to be in a hazardous position or of the State Police Retirement System. The percentage of the monthly contribution paid for the spouse and each dependent child of a recipient who was in a hazardous position shall be based solely on the member's service with the State Police Retirement System or service in a hazardous position using the formula in subsection (3)(a) of this section, except that for any recipient of a retirement allowance from the County Employees Retirement System who was contributing to the system on January 1, 1998, for service in a hazardous position, the percentage of the monthly contribution shall be based on the total of hazardous service and any nonhazardous service as a police or firefighter with the same agency, if that agency was participating in the County Employees Retirement System but did not offer hazardous duty coverage for its police and firefighters at the time of initial participation. (c)  The insurance fund shall continue the same level of coverage for a recipient who was a member of the County Employees Retirement System after the age of sixty-five (65) as before the age of sixty-five (65), if the recipient is not eligible for Medicare coverage. If the insurance fund provides coverage for the spouse or each dependent child of a former member of the County Employees Retirement System, the insurance fund shall continue the same level of coverage for the spouse or each dependent child after the age of sixty-five (65) as before the age of sixty-five (65), if the spouse or dependent child is not eligible for Medicare coverage. (5) After July 1, 1998, notwithstanding any other provision to the contrary, a member who holds a judicial office but did not elect to participate in the Judicial Retirement Plan and is participating instead in the Kentucky Employees Retirement System, the County Employees Retirement System, or the State Police Retirement System, as provided in KRS 61.680, and who has at least twenty (20) years of total service, one-half (1/2) of which is in a judicial office, shall receive the same hospital and medical insurance benefits, including paid benefits for spouse and dependents, as provided to persons retiring under the provisions of KRS 21.427. The Administrative Office of the Courts shall pay the cost of the medical insurance benefits provided by this subsection. (6) Premiums paid for hospital and medical insurance coverage procured under authority of this section shall be exempt from any premium tax which might otherwise be required under KRS Chapter 136. The payment of premiums by the insurance fund shall not constitute taxable income to an insured recipient. No commission shall be paid for hospital and medical insurance procured under authority of this section. (7) The board shall promulgate an administrative regulation to establish a medical insurance reimbursement plan to provide reimbursement for hospital and medical insurance premiums of recipients of a retirement allowance who are not eligible for the same level of hospital and medical benefits as recipients living in Kentucky and having the same Medicare hospital and medical insurance eligibility status. An eligible recipient shall file proof of payment for hospital and medical insurance at the retirement office. Reimbursement to eligible recipients shall be made on a quarterly basis. The recipient shall be eligible for reimbursement of substantiated medical insurance premiums for an amount not to exceed the total monthly premium determined under subsection (3) of this section. The plan shall not be made available if all recipients are eligible for the same coverage as recipients living in Kentucky. (8) For employees having a membership date on or after July 1, 2003, participation in the insurance benefits provided under this section shall not be allowed until the employee has earned at least one hundred twenty (120) months of service in the state-administered retirement systems. (a)  An employee who earns at least one hundred twenty (120) months of service in the state-administered retirement systems shall be eligible for benefits as follows: 1. For employees who are not in a hazardous position, a monthly insurance contribution of ten dollars ($10) for each year of service as a participating employee. 2. For employees who are in a hazardous position or who participate in the State Police Retirement System, a monthly insurance contribution of fifteen dollars ($15) for each year of service as a participating employee in a hazardous position or as a participating member of the State Police Retirement System. Upon the death of the retired member, the beneficiary, if the beneficiary is the member's spouse, shall be entitled to a monthly insurance contribution of ten dollars ($10) for each year of service the member attained as a participating employee in a hazardous position or as a participating member of the State Police Retirement System. (b)  The one hundred twenty (120) months of service requirement shall be waived for a member who is disabled or killed in the line of duty as defined in KRS 16.505(19) or KRS 61.621, and the member or his beneficiary shall be entitled to the benefits payable under this subsection as though the member had twenty (20) years of service in a hazardous position. (c)  The monthly insurance contribution amount shall be increased July 1 of each year by the percentage change in the annual average of the consumer price index for all urban consumers for the most recent calendar year as published by the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics, not to exceed five percent (5%). The increase shall be cumulative and shall continue to accrue after the member's retirement for as long as a monthly insurance contribution is payable to the retired member or beneficiary. (d) The benefits of this subsection provided to a member whose participation begins on or after July 1, 2003, shall not be considered as benefits protected by the inviolable contract provisions of KRS 61.692, 16.652, and 78.852. The General Assembly reserves the right to suspend or reduce the benefits conferred in this subsection if in its judgment the welfare of the Commonwealth so demands. Effective: July 12, 2006 History: Amended 2006 Ky. Acts ch. 164, sec. 3, effective July 12, 2006. -- Amended 2004 Ky. Acts ch. 33, sec. 5, and ch. 36, sec. 30, effective July 13, 2004. -- Amended 2003 Ky. Acts ch. 155, sec. 1, effective June 24, 2003. -- Amended 2001 Ky. Acts ch. 7, sec. 2, effective June 21, 2001. -- Amended 2000 Ky. Acts ch. 341, sec. 6, effective July 14, 2000; and ch. 385, sec. 28, effective July 14, 2000. -- Amended 1998 Ky. Acts ch. 105, sec. 20, effective July 15, 1998; and ch. 351, sec. 2, effective July 15, 1998. -- Amended 1996 Ky. Acts ch. 167, secs. 23 and 31, effective July 15, 1996. -- Amended 1992 Ky. Acts ch. 92, sec. 1, effective July 14, 1992. -- Amended 1990 Ky. Acts ch. 489, sec. 9, effective July 13, 1990. -- Amended 1986 Ky. Acts ch. 295, sec. 1, effective July 15, 1986. -- Amended 1982 Ky. Acts ch. 423, sec. 13, effective July 15, 1982. -- Amended 1980 Ky. Acts ch. 97, sec. 4, effective July 15, 1980; and ch. 186, sec. 17, effective July 15, 1980. -- Created 1978 Ky. Acts ch. 311, sec. 9, effective June 17, 1978.