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Coding: Words which are struck through are deletions from existing law;
words in boldface type and underscored are additions.
Regular Session, 2014
SENATE BILL NO. 221
BY SENATOR ERDEY
GROUP BENEFITS PROGRAM. Provides relative to premiums. (7/1/14)
AN ACT1
To enact R.S. 42:851(T), relative to premiums for the Group Benefits Program; to provide2
for employer contributions to such premiums; to provide for an effective date; and3
to provide for related matters.4
Be it enacted by the Legislature of Louisiana:5
Section 1. R.S. 42:851(T) is hereby enacted to read as follows:6
ยง851. Authority for employee benefit programs; payroll deduction for payment of7
premiums8
* * *9
T. An employee who retires from a position with a city, parish, or other10
local public school system whose employees are eligible to participate in the11
Office of Group Benefits health care program, who participated in such12
program for the duration of employment with that employer but whose13
participation is less than twenty years, who, immediately prior to such14
employment, was an employee of another city, parish, or other local public15
school system and who participated in the group health insurance program16
made available by that school system, and who, upon retirement, maintains17 SB NO. 221
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Coding: Words which are struck through are deletions from existing law;
words in boldface type and underscored are additions.
enrollment in the Office of Group Benefits program shall, notwithstanding any1
provision of law to the contrary, have an employer contribution determined2
pursuant to Subsection E of this Section, applying the sum of his years of3
participation in the Office of Group Benefits program and his years of4
participation in the group health insurance program made available by the5
immediately prior school system. The employer share of the premium so6
determined shall be remitted to the Office of Group Benefits by the employee's7
last employer; provided, however, that the immediately prior employer shall8
reimburse the last employer for the portion of the premium attributable to the9
employee's duration of employment with that prior employer.10
Section 2. This Act shall become effective on July 1, 2014; if vetoed by the governor11
and subsequently approved by the legislature, this Act shall become effective on July 1,12
2014, or on the day following such approval by the legislature, whichever is later.13
The original instrument and the following digest, which constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument, were prepared by Laura Gail Sullivan.
DIGEST
Erdey (SB 221)
Present law provides for a participation schedule to determine the employer share of a
retiree's Group Benefits health insurance premiums based on the years the person
participated in the Office of Group Benefits (OGB) program before retirement as follows:
(1) 19% for those persons with less than 10 years of participation.
(2)38% for those persons with at least 10 but less than 15 years of participation.
(3)56% for those persons with at least 15 but less than 20 years of participation.
(4) 75% for those persons with 20 or more years of participation.
Proposed law, applicable to an employee who:
(1) Retires from a position with a local public school system whose employees are
eligible to participate in the OGB health care program.
(2) Participated in such program for the duration of employment with that employer but
whose participation is less than 20 years.
(3) Immediately prior to such employment, was an employee of another local public
school system and participated in the group health insurance program made available
by that school system.
provides that such an employee who maintains enrollment in the OGB program upon SB NO. 221
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Coding: Words which are struck through are deletions from existing law;
words in boldface type and underscored are additions.
retirement shall have an employer contribution determined pursuant to present law
participation schedule. Provides that the determination shall be made by applying the sum
of his years of participation in OGB and his years of participation in the group health
insurance program made available by the immediately prior school system.
Proposed law provides that the employer share of the premium determined pursuant to
proposed law shall be remitted to OGB by the employee's last employer. Provides, however,
that the immediately prior employer shall reimburse the last employer for the portion of the
premium attributable to the employee's duration of employment with that prior employer.
Effective July 1, 2014.
(Adds R.S. 42:851(T))
Summary of Amendments Adopted by Senate
Committee Amendments Proposed by Senate Committee on Insurance to the original
bill
1. Provides that proposed law applies to employees whose last employer was
a local public school system only.
2. Changes permissive language to mandatory language.
3. Provides for the employer premium share to be determined pursuant to
present law rather than an amount agreed to by the last two employers.
4. Requires the last employer to submit the full employer premium share to
OGB.
5. Requires immediately prior employer to reimburse the last employer for the
portion of the employer share of the premium attributable to the employee's
duration of employment with that prior employer.