§87A-33 State and county contributions; retired employees. (a) Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, this section shall apply to state and county contributions to the fund for:

(1) The dependent-beneficiary of an employee who is killed in the performance of duty;

(2) A dependent-beneficiary, upon the death of the employee-beneficiary, except as provided in section 87A-36;

(3) An employee-beneficiary who retired after June 30, 1984, due to a disability falling within sections 88-79 and 88-285;

(4) An employee-beneficiary who retired before July 1, 1984;

(5) An employee-beneficiary who:

(A) Was hired before July 1, 1996;

(B) Retired after June 30, 1984; and

(C) Who has ten years or more of credited service, excluding sick leave;

(6) An employee-beneficiary who:

(A) Was hired after June 30, 1996; and

(B) Retired with twenty-five or more years of credited service, excluding sick leave, except as provided in section 87A-36; and

(7) Employees who retired prior to 1961 and their dependent-beneficiaries.

(b) Effective January 1, 2014, there is established a base monthly contribution for health benefit plans that the State, through the department of budget and finance, and the counties, through their respective departments of finance, shall pay to the fund, up to the following:

(1) $524.73 for each employee-beneficiary enrolled in supplemental medicare self plans;

(2) $1,051.70 for each employee-beneficiary enrolled in supplemental medicare two-party plans;

(3) $1,531.78 for each employee-beneficiary enrolled in supplemental medicare family plans;

(4) $736.60 for each employee-beneficiary enrolled in non-medicare self plans;

(5) $1,484.72 for each employee-beneficiary enrolled in non-medicare two-party plans; and

(6) $2,173.06 for each employee-beneficiary enrolled in non-medicare family plans.

The monthly contribution by the State or county shall not exceed the actual cost of the health benefit plan or plans and shall not be required to cover increased benefits above those initially contracted for by the fund for plan year 2004-2005. If two employee-beneficiaries are married or in a civil union, the total contribution by the State or county shall not exceed the monthly contribution for a supplemental medicare family or non-medicare family plan, as appropriate.

(c) The base composite monthly contribution shall be adjusted annually, beginning January 1, 2015. The adjusted base composite monthly contribution for each new plan year (January 1 until December 31) shall be calculated by increasing or decreasing the base composite monthly contribution in effect through the end of the previous plan year by the percentage increase or decrease in the medicare part B premium rate for those years, which percentage shall be calculated by dividing the medicare part B premium rate in effect at the beginning of the new plan year by the rate in effect at the beginning of the previous plan year.

As used in this subsection, "medicare part B premium rate" means the rate published in the Federal Register each year on November 1 or on the business day closest to November 1 of each year after the medicare part B premium rate has been established by the United States Secretary of Health and Human Services and approved by the United States Congress.

(d) If the board adopts a rate structure that provides for other than self and family rates for the health benefit plans, the base monthly contribution for the rate structure adopted by the board shall be adjusted to provide the equivalent underwriting cost as the base monthly contribution that is provided for in this section. [L 2001, c 88, pt of §1; am L 2003, c 111, §2; am L 2007, c 26, §1; am L 2012, c 38, §1; am L 2013, c 282, §1; am L 2019, c 51, §4]