S-3609               _______________________________________________

 

                                                   SENATE BILL NO. 4583

                        _______________________________________________

 

State of Washington                              49th Legislature                              1986 Regular Session

 

By Senators Moore and Goltz

 

 

Read first time 1/16/86 and referred to Committee on Financial Institutions.

 

 


AN ACT Relating to health insurance; amending RCW 41.04.180; and creating a new section.

 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

 

        Sec. 1.  Section 1, chapter 75, Laws of 1963 as last amended by section 1, chapter 82, Laws of 1974 ex. sess. and RCW 41.04.180 are each amended to read as follows:

          (1) Any county, municipality, or other political subdivision of the state acting through its principal supervising official or governing body may, whenever funds shall be available for that purpose provide for all or a part of hospitalization and medical aid for its employees and their dependents through contracts with regularly constituted insurance carriers or with health care service contractors as defined in chapter 48.44 RCW or self-insurers as provided for in chapter 48.52 RCW, for group hospitalization and medical aid policies or plans:  PROVIDED, That any county, municipality, or other political subdivision of the state acting through its principal supervising official or governing body shall provide the employees thereof a choice of policies or plans through contracts with not less than two regularly constituted insurance carriers or health care service contractors or other health care plans, including but not limited to, trusts of self-insurance as provided for in chapter 48.52 RCW:  AND PROVIDED FURTHER, That any county may provide such hospitalization and medical aid to county elected officials and their dependents on the same basis as such hospitalization and medical aid is provided to other county employees and their dependents((:  PROVIDED FURTHER, That provision for school district personnel shall not be made under this section but shall be as provided for in RCW 28A.58.420)).

          (2) Any county, municipality, or other political subdivision of the state that provides a plan for all or part of hospitalization and medical aid for its employees shall permit retired and disabled employees and their dependents to continue participation in such plan subject to the following exceptions, limitations, and conditions:

          (a) This subsection shall have no application to  a county, municipality, or other political subdivision participating in an insurance program administered under chapter 41.05 RCW if retired and disabled employees and their dependents of such participating county, municipality, or other political subdivision are permitted to continue coverage under an insurance program administered under chapter 41.05 RCW; and members of the law enforcement officers' and fire fighters' retirement system under chapter 41.26 RCW.

          (b) A person who requests continued participation in the plan may be required to pay for such continuation of coverage under the plan; however, such payment may not exceed the rate, cost, or premium provided for active employees.

          If the person is eligible for federal medicare, the plan shall reduce benefits and rates, costs or premiums for such person to the extent medicare benefits duplicate plan benefits.

          (c) Nothing contained in this subsection shall be deemed to affect any plan contained in a collective bargaining agreement in existence as of the effective date of this 1986 act; however, any plan contained in future collective bargaining agreements shall conform to the provisions of this subsection.

          (d) A retired or disabled employee shall bear the full cost of the premium as determined by (b) of this subsection.  However, the enactment of this subsection shall not require any reduction in benefits now being received.

          (e) After an initial open enrollment period of not less than ninety days after the effective date of this 1986 act, no retired or disabled employee may be covered pursuant to this subsection if coverage is allowed to lapse at any time.  If any employer offered a medical plan to its employees at the time they retired or became disabled, which plan had substantially the same benefits and premium charges as the plan offered to the active employees at the time, no retired or disabled employee who failed to enroll in such plan at the time it was offered may now enroll in a medical plan pursuant to this subsection except at the option of the employer.

          (f) Premiums for coverage may be assigned to the insurance carrier from public pension benefits or paid to the former employer so that no carrier shall be required to accept individual premium payments from retired or disabled employees and/or dependents.

          (g) The benefits granted under this subsection shall not be considered a matter of contractual right.  Should the legislature, county, municipality, or other political subdivision of the state revoke or change any benefits granted under this subsection, no affected retiree, employee, or dependent shall be entitled thereafter to receive such benefits as a matter of contractual right.

          (h) "Retired employee," as used in this subsection, is defined as an individual who is a public employee with not less than five years of service at the date of retirement.

          (i) "Disabled employee," as used in this subsection, is defined as an individual eligible to receive a disability retirement allowance from a public retirement system.

          (j) This subsection is applicable from and after January 1, 1987, or the date of current policy or contract renewal, whichever is later.

          (k) Any county, municipality, or other political subdivision of the state may offer one or more medical plans for retirees only which are designed to meet the needs of the retirees.  The rate, cost, or premium for the medical plan or plans offered to retirees shall not exceed that charged to the active employee group of which the retiree was a member.  However, the benefits provided in the retiree plan or plans may be different than the benefits provided in the plan or plans for active employees.

          (l) If an employer leaves a group or trust medical plan, that plan has no further responsibility to the retired or disabled former employees who may have had coverage through that group or trust plan.  However, the employer shall include all retired or disabled employees who have had such coverage in any new group or trust medical plan.

 

          NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2.     To the extent it does not conflict with RCW 41.04.180(2), any employer or group providing insurance to any retired or disabled employee and/or their dependents may adopt terms and conditions necessary to administer the provisions of RCW 41.04.180(2).  Such terms and conditions may include, but are not limited to, requirements for coordination of benefits with any other insurance plan covering a person affected by RCW 41.04.180(2).