A. A municipality may provide hospital and medical benefits, accident, health, and life insurance, or any of the aforesaid, through any company authorized to do business in Oklahoma, for any or all of its officers or employees and their dependents, whether the officers or employees are engaged in a governmental or nongovernmental function of the municipality. A municipality may also provide such benefits when an officer or employee is ordered by proper authority to active duty in the National Guard or Reserve Corps of the Armed Forces of the United States. The municipality may pay a portion or all of the premiums from any municipal general funds, and may deduct from the wages or salary of any such officer or employee, upon written authority signed by the officer or employee, amounts for the payment of all or any portion of the monthly premium for same.
B. 1. For the purposes of and as used in this subsection:
2. Notwithstanding any other state or federal law, a retired employee may continue to elect coverage under any health insurance plan offered by the affected municipality that last employed the retired employee, including any health plans targeted for retirees and Medicare eligible retirees.
3. To participate in the health insurance plan offered by a retired employee's affected municipality, the retired employee shall elect to participate in the health insurance plan within thirty (30) days from the date of termination of employment with the affected municipality.
4. The retired employee who participates in the health insurance plan pursuant to this subsection shall pay up to the full cost of the health insurance plan at the rates and pursuant to the terms and conditions established by the affected municipality,provided the amount of the retired employee's premiums and dependent premiums for said health insurance plan paid by said retired employee who is under sixty-five (65) years of age shall be no greater than one hundred twenty-five percent (125%) of the amount of the officer or employee premiums and dependent premiums for the health insurance plan paid by or on behalf of an officer or employee who is currently employed by the affected municipality.
5. An affected municipality that offers a health insurance plan in accordance with this section to its officers or employees and dependents shall offer a health insurance plan to those retired employees and their dependents who elect to participate in the health insurance plan in accordance with this subsection unless the retired employee or dependent is sixty-five (65) years of age or older and/or qualifies for Medicare.
6. An affected municipality that provides a health insurance plan to retired employees pursuant to this subsection may offer one or more, or a combination of one or more of the following health care options or plans in supplement or as an alternate to traditional Medicare coverage: a coordination of benefits plan, a Medicare supplement (Medigap) plan, a Medicare Advantage plan (with or without an optional Medicare Part D prescription drug plan), a Medicare Part D prescription drug plan, or other similar health care options or plans approved by the federal government's Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, to those retired employees and their dependents who are sixty-five (65) years of age or older and/or qualify for Medicare.
7. An affected municipality which participates in the plan or plans offered by the State and Education Employees Group Insurance Board shall not be subject to the provisions of this subsection so long as the participation continues.
8. If a retired employee who retires from an affected municipality that participates in a municipal retirement system authorized pursuant to the provisions of Section 48-101 et seq. of this title does not receive a continuing benefit from the municipal retirement system because of a lump sum distribution from the retirement system to the retired employee or because the municipal retirement system is discontinued, the retired employee shall be entitled to make the election authorized pursuant to this subsection if the retired employee was employed by the affected municipality for at least eight (8) years or was disabled due to a line-of-duty injury while employed by and unable to continue similar employment with the affected municipality.
C. Public and private educational institutions of the state not supported by any state appropriated funds may purchase annuity contracts for any of their full-time officers and employees from any insurance company organized and operated without profit to any private shareholder or individual exclusively for the purpose of aiding and strengthening educational institutions, whether or not such company be authorized to do business in Oklahoma.
Added by Laws 1977, c. 256, § 23-108, eff. July 1, 1978. Amended by Laws 1991, c. 232, § 2, emerg. eff. May 24, 1991; Laws 1992, c. 386, § 1, eff. July 1, 1992; Laws 1993, c. 50, § 1, emerg. eff. April 9, 1993; Laws 1995, c. 53, § 1, emerg. eff. April 10, 1995; Laws 2004, c. 515, § 4, eff. July 1, 2004; Laws 2014, c. 47, § 1, eff. Nov. 1, 2014.