Senate Bill No. 494
(By Senator Love)
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[Introduced February 19, 1996; referred to the Committee
on Banking and Insurance; and then to the Committee on Finance
.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact section thirteen, article sixteen,
chapter five of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to public employees
insurance; payment of costs by employer and employee;
coverage for employee's spouse and dependents; short term
continuance of coverage for involuntary employee
termination; extended insurance coverage for retired
employees with accrued annual leave and sick leave;
increased retirement benefits for retired employees with
accrued annual and sick leave; additional eligible retired
employees; option for health insurance coverage without life
insurance coverage made available to retirees; and extended insurance coverage for surviving spouse and dependents of
participating and retired employees with accrued annual
leave and sick leave.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section thirteen, article sixteen, chapter five of the
code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 16. WEST VIRGINIA PUBLIC EMPLOYEES INSURANCE ACT.
§5-16-13. Payment of costs by employer and employee; coverage
for employee's spouse and dependents generally;
short term continuance of coverage for involuntary
employee termination; extended insurance coverage
for retired employees with accrued annual leave and
sick leave; increased retirement benefits for
retired employees with accrued annual and sick
leave; additional eligible retired employees;
option for health insurance coverage without life
insurance coverage made available to retirees;
health insurance for surviving dependents of
deceased employees.
(a) The director is hereby authorized to provide under any
contract or contracts entered into under the provisions of this
article that the costs of any such group hospital and surgical insurance, group major medical insurance, group prescription drug
insurance, group life and accidental death insurance benefit plan
or plans may be paid by the employer and employee. In addition,
each employee shall be entitled to have his or her spouse and
dependents, as defined by the rules and regulations of the public
employees insurance agency, included in any group hospital and
surgical insurance, group major medical insurance or group
prescription drug insurance coverage: Provided, That such the
spouse and dependent coverage shall be limited to excess or
secondary coverage for each spouse and dependent who has primary
coverage from any other source. For purposes of this section,
the term "primary coverage" means individual or group hospital
and surgical insurance coverage or individual or group major
medical insurance coverage or group prescription drug coverage in
which the spouse or dependent is the named insured or certificate
holder. The director may require proof regarding spouse and
dependent primary coverage and shall adopt rules and regulations
governing the nature, discontinuance and resumption of any
employee's coverage for his or her spouse and dependents.
(b) Should a participating employee be terminated from
employment involuntarily or in reduction of work force, the employee's insurance coverage provided under this article shall
continue for a period of three months at no additional cost to
the employee: Provided, That an employee discharged for
misconduct shall may not be eligible for extended benefits under
this section: Provided, however, That coverage may be extended
up to the maximum period of three months, while administrative
remedies contesting the charge of misconduct are pursued:
Provided further, That should the discharge for misconduct be
upheld, the full cost of the extended coverage shall be
reimbursed by the employee. If the employee is again employed or
recalled to active employment within twelve months of his or her
prior termination, he or she shall may not be considered a new
enrollee and shall may not be required to again contribute his or
her share of the premium cost, if he or she had already fully
contributed such that share during the prior period of
employment.
(c) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (f) of this
section, for higher education full-time faculty employed on an
annual contract basis other than for twelve months, when a
participating employee, who has elected to participate in the
plan before the first day of July, one thousand nine hundred eighty-eight, is compelled or required by law to retire before
reaching the age of sixty-five, or when a participating employee
voluntarily retires as provided by law, that employee's accrued
annual leave and sick leave, if any, shall be credited toward an
extension of the insurance coverage provided by this article,
according to the following formulae: Such The insurance coverage
for a retired employee shall continue one additional month for
every two days of annual leave or sick leave, or both, which the
employee had accrued as of the effective date of his or her
retirement. For a retired employee, his or her spouse and
dependents, such the insurance coverage shall continue one
additional month for every three days of annual leave or sick
leave, or both, which the employee had accrued as of the
effective date of his or her retirement: Provided, That upon the
death of the participating employee or the retired employee, any
accrued annual leave and sick leave of the deceased shall be
credited toward an extension of the insurance coverage for the
surviving spouse and dependents as provided by this subsection.
(d) Notwithstanding the preceding subsection, except as
otherwise provided in subsection (f) of this section, for higher
education full-time faculty employed on an annual contract basis other than for twelve months, when a participating employee who
elects to participate in the plan on and after the first day of
July, one thousand nine hundred eighty-eight, is compelled or
required by law to retire before reaching the age of sixty-five,
or when such a participating employee voluntarily retires as
provided by law, that employee's annual leave or sick leave, if
any, shall be credited toward one half of the premium cost of the
insurance provided by this article, for periods and scope of
coverage determined according to the following formulae: (1) One
additional month of single retiree coverage for every two days of
annual leave or sick leave, or both, which the employee had
accrued as of the effective date of his or her retirement; or (2)
one additional month of coverage for a retiree, his or her spouse
and dependents for every three days of annual leave or sick
leave, or both, which the employee had accrued as of the
effective date of his or her retirement: Provided, That upon the
death of the participating employee or the retired employee, any
accrued annual leave and sick leave of the deceased shall be
credited toward an extension of the insurance coverage for the
surviving spouse and dependents as provided by this subsection.
The remaining premium cost shall be borne by such the retired employee if he or she elects such coverage. For purposes of this
subsection, an employee who has been a participant under spouse
or dependent coverage and who reenters the plan within twelve
months after termination of his or her prior coverage shall be
considered to have elected to participate in the plan as of the
date of commencement of the prior coverage. For purposes of this
subsection, an employee shall may not be considered a new
employee after returning from extended authorized leave on or
after the first day of July, one thousand nine hundred
eighty-eight.
(e) In the alternative to the extension of insurance
coverage through premium payment provided in the two preceding
subsections, on and after the first day of July, one thousand
nine hundred eighty-eight, the participating employee's accrued
annual leave and sick leave may be applied, on the basis of two
days retirement service credit for each one day of accrued annual
and sick leave, toward an increase in the employee's retirement
benefits with such the days constituting additional credited
service in computation of such the benefits under any state
retirement system. However, such the credited service shall may
not be used in meeting initial eligibility for retirement criteria, but only as additional service credited in excess
thereof.
(f) When a participating employee, who is a higher education
full-time faculty member employed on an annual contract basis
other than for twelve months, is compelled or required by law to
retire, on or after the first day of August, one thousand nine
hundred eighty-eight, before reaching the age of sixty-five, or
when such a participating employee voluntarily retires as
provided by law, on or after the first day of August, one
thousand nine hundred eighty-eight, that employee's insurance
coverage, as provided by this article, shall be extended
according to the following formulae: Such The insurance coverage
for a retired higher education full-time faculty member, formerly
employed on an annual contract basis other than for twelve
months, shall continue beyond the effective date of his or her
retirement one additional year for each three and one-third years
of teaching service, as determined by uniform guidelines
established by the university of West Virginia board of trustees
and the board of directors of the state college system, for
individual coverage, or one additional year for each five years
of teaching service for "family" coverage.
(g) Any employee who retired prior to the twenty-first day
of April, one thousand nine hundred seventy-two, and who also
otherwise meets the conditions of the "retired employee"
definition in section two of this article, shall be eligible for
insurance coverage under the same terms and provisions of this
article. The retired employee's premium contribution for any
such coverage shall be established by the finance board.
(h) All retirees under the provisions of this article,
including those defined in section two of this article; those
retiring prior to the twenty-first day of April, one thousand
nine hundred seventy-two; and those hereafter retiring shall be
eligible for and permitted to obtain health insurance coverage.
The retired employee's premium contribution for any such coverage
shall be established by the finance board.
(i) A surviving spouse and dependents of a deceased
employee, who was either an active or retired employee just prior
to such decease, shall be entitled to be included in any group
insurance coverage provided under this article, and such spouse
and dependents shall bear the premium cost of such insurance
coverage. The finance board shall establish the premium cost of
any such coverage.
(j) (i) In construing the provisions of this section or any
other provisions of this code, the Legislature declares that it
is not now nor has it ever been the Legislature's intent that
elected public officials be provided any sick leave, annual leave
or personal leave, and the enactment of this section is based
upon the fact and assumption that no statutory or inherent
authority exists extending sick leave, annual leave or personal
leave to elected public officials and the very nature of such
positions preclude the arising or accumulation of such, so as to
be thereafter usable as premium paying credits for which such the
officials may claim extended insurance benefits.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to credit the surviving
spouse and dependents with the accrued annual and sick leave of
the deceased participating or retired public employee for the
purpose of extended insurance coverage.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.