FISCAL
NOTE
WEST virginia Legislature
2017 regular session
By
[
to the Committee on Banking and Insurance then Finance
A BILL to amend and
reenact §5-16-2 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to the
West Virginia Public Employees Insurance Act;
and providing state health care services for all active and inactive duty
military personnel.
Be it enacted by the
Legislature of West Virginia:
That §5-16-2 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 16. WEST VIRGINIA
PUBLIC EMPLOYEES INSURANCE ACT.
§5-16-2. Definitions.
The following words and
phrases as used in this article, unless a different meaning is clearly
indicated by the context, have the following meanings:
(1) "Agency" means the Public Employees Insurance Agency created by this article.
(2) "Director"
means the Director of the Public Employees Insurance Agency created by this article.
(3) "Employee"
means any person, including an elected officer, who works regularly full-time
in the service of the State of West Virginia and, for the purpose of this
article only, the term "employee" also means any person, including an elected officer,
who works regularly full-time in the service of a county board of education; a
county, city or town in the state; a person serving in the Armed Forces of the United States in the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, National Guard or Coast Guard as defined by
the laws of the United States and who are citizens and residents of this state; any separate corporation or instrumentality
established by one or more counties, cities or towns, as permitted by law; any
corporation or instrumentality supported in most part by counties, cities or
towns; any public corporation charged by law with the performance of a
governmental function and whose jurisdiction is coextensive with one or more
counties, cities or towns; any comprehensive community mental health center or
comprehensive mental retardation facility established, operated or licensed by
the Secretary of Health and Human Resources pursuant to section one, article
two-a, chapter twenty-seven of this code and which is supported in part by
state, county or municipal funds; any person who works regularly full-time in
the service of the Higher Education Policy Commission, the West Virginia
Council for Community and Technical College Education or a governing board, as
defined in section two, article one, chapter eighteen-b of this code; any
person who works regularly full-time in the service of a combined city-county
health department created pursuant to article two, chapter sixteen of this
code; any person designated as a 21st Century Learner Fellow pursuant to
section eleven, article three, chapter eighteen-a of this code; and any person
who works as a long-term substitute as defined in section one, article one,
chapter eighteen-a of this code in the service of a county board of education: Provided, That a long-term substitute who
is continuously employed for at least one hundred thirty-three instructional
days during an instructional term, and until the end of that instructional
term, is eligible for the benefits provided in this article until September 1
following that instructional term: Provided, however, That a long-term
substitute employed fewer than one hundred thirty-three instructional days
during an instructional term is eligible for the benefits provided in this
article only during such time as he or she is actually employed as a long-term
substitute. On and after January 1,
1994, and upon election by a county board of education to allow elected board
members to participate in the Public Employees Insurance Program pursuant to
this article, any person elected to a county board of education shall be
considered to be an "employee" during the term of office of the
elected member. Upon election by the
State Board of Education to allow appointed board members to participate in the
Public Employees Insurance Program pursuant to this article, any person
appointed to the State Board of Education is considered an "employee"
during the term of office of the appointed member: Provided further, That the elected member
of a county board of education and the appointed member of the State Board of
Education shall pay the entire cost of the premium if he or she elects to be
covered under this article. Any matters
of doubt as to who is an employee within the meaning of this article shall be
decided by the director.
On or after July 1, 1997, a
person shall be considered an "employee" if that person meets the
following criteria:
(i) Participates in a
job-sharing arrangement as defined in section one, article one, chapter eighteen-a
of this code;
(ii) Has been designated,
in writing, by all other participants in that job-sharing arrangement as the
"employee" for purposes of this section; and
(iii) Works at least one
third of the time required for a full-time employee.
(4) "Employer"
means the State of West Virginia, its boards, agencies, commissions,
departments, institutions or spending units; a county board of education; a
county, city or town in the state; any separate corporation or instrumentality
established by one or more counties, cities or towns, as permitted by law; any
corporation or instrumentality supported in most part by counties, cities or
towns; any public corporation charged by law with the performance of a
governmental function and whose jurisdiction is coextensive with one or more
counties, cities or towns; any comprehensive community mental health center or
comprehensive mental retardation facility established, operated or licensed by
the Secretary of Health and Human Resources pursuant to section one, article
two-a, chapter twenty-seven of this code and which is supported in part by
state, county or municipal funds; a combined city-county health department
created pursuant to article two, chapter sixteen of this code; and a
corporation meeting the description set forth in section three, article twelve,
chapter eighteen-b of this code that is employing a twenty-first Century
Learner Fellow pursuant to section eleven, article three, chapter eighteen of
this code but the corporation is not considered an employer with respect to any
employee other than a twenty-first Century Learner Fellow. Any matters of doubt as to who is an
"employer" within the meaning of this article shall be decided by the
director. The term "employer"
does not include within its meaning the National Guard.
(5) "Finance
board" means the Public Employees Insurance Agency finance board created
by this article.
(6) "Person"
means any individual, company, association, organization, corporation or other
legal entity, including, but not limited to, hospital, medical or dental
service corporations; health maintenance organizations or similar organization
providing prepaid health benefits; or individuals entitled to benefits under
the provisions of this article.
(7) "Plan",
unless the context indicates otherwise, means the medical indemnity plan, the
managed care plan option or the group life insurance plan offered by the
agency.
(8)"Retired
employee" means an employee of the state who retired after April 29, 1971,
and an employee of the Higher Education Policy Commission, the Council for
Community and Technical College Education, a state institution of higher
education or a county board of education who retires on or after April 21,
1972, and all additional eligible employees who retire on or after the
effective date of this article, meet the minimum eligibility requirements for
their respective state retirement system and whose last employer immediately
prior to retirement under the state retirement system is a participating
employer in the state retirement system and in the Public Employees Insurance
Agency: Provided, That for the
purposes of this article, the employees who are not covered by a state
retirement system, but who are covered by a state-approved or state-contracted
retirement program or a system approved by the director, shall, in the case of
education employees, meet the minimum eligibility requirements of the state
Teachers Retirement System and in all other cases, meet the minimum eligibility
requirements of the Public Employees Retirement System and may participate in
the Public Employees Insurance Agency as retired employees upon terms as the
director sets by rule as authorized in this article. Employers with employees who are, or who are
eligible to become, retired employees under this article shall be mandatory
participants in the Retiree Health Benefit Trust Fund created pursuant to
article sixteen-d of this chapter.
Nonstate employers may opt out of the West Virginia other
post-employment benefits plan of the Retiree Health Benefit Trust Fund and
elect to not provide benefits under the Public Employees Insurance Agency to
retirees of the nonstate employer, but may do so only upon the written
certification, under oath, of an authorized officer of the employer that the
employer has no employees who are, or who are eligible to become, retired
employees and that the employer will defend and hold harmless the Public
Employees Insurance Agency from any claim by one of the employer's past,
present or future employees for eligibility to participate in the Public
Employees Insurance Agency as a retired employee. As a matter of law, the Public Employees
Insurance Agency shall not be liable in any respect to provide plan benefits to
a retired employee of a nonstate employer which has opted out of the West
Virginia other post-employment benefits plan of the Retiree Health Benefit
Trust Fund pursuant to this section.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to
provide state health care services for all active and inactive duty military
personnel.
Strike-throughs indicate language
that would be stricken from a heading or the present law and underscoring
indicates new language that would be added.