PART I. 
GENERAL PROVISIONS



 



§87A-1  Definitions.  As used in this
chapter:



"Board" means the board of trustees
of the Hawaii employer-union health benefits trust fund described in section
87A-5.



"Carrier" means a voluntary
association, corporation, partnership, or organization engaged in providing,
paying for, arranging for, or reimbursing the cost of, health benefits or
long-term care benefits under group insurance contracts.



"Contribution" means money payments
made to the fund by the State, the counties, an employee-beneficiary, or a
qualified-beneficiary.



"County" means the counties of
Hawaii, Honolulu, Kauai, and Maui, including their respective boards of water
supply and other quasi-independent boards, commissions, and agencies.



"Dependent-beneficiary" means an
employee-beneficiary's:



(1)  Spouse;



(2)  Unmarried child deemed eligible by the board,
including a legally adopted child, stepchild, foster child, or recognized
natural child who lives with the employee-beneficiary; and



(3)  Unmarried child regardless of age who is
incapable of self-support because of a mental or physical incapacity, which
existed prior to the unmarried child's reaching the age of nineteen years.



"Employee" means an employee or
officer of the State, county, or legislature,



(1)  Including:



(A)  An elective officer;



(B)  A per diem employee;



(C)  An officer or employee under an authorized
leave of absence;



(D)  An employee of the Hawaii national guard
although paid from federal funds;



(E)  A retired member of the employees'
retirement system; the county pension system; or the police, firefighters, or
bandsmen pension system of the State or county;



(F)  A salaried and full-time member of a
board, commission, or agency appointed by the governor or the mayor of a
county; and



(G)  A person employed by contract for a period
not exceeding one year, where the director of human resources development,
personnel services, or civil service has certified that the service is
essential or needed in the public interest and that, because of circumstances
surrounding its fulfillment, personnel to perform the service cannot be
obtained through normal civil service recruitment procedures,



(2)  But excluding:



(A)  A designated beneficiary of a retired
member of the employees' retirement system; the county pension system; or the
police, firefighters, or bandsmen pension system of the State or county;



(B)  Except as allowed under paragraph (1)(G),
a person employed temporarily on a fee or contract basis; and



(C)  A part-time, temporary, and seasonal or
casual employee.



"Employee-beneficiary" means:



(1)  An employee;



(2)  The beneficiary of an employee who is killed in
the performance of the employee's duty;



(3)  An employee who retired prior to 1961;



(4)  The beneficiary of a retired member of the
employees' retirement system; a county pension system; or a police,
firefighters, or bandsmen pension system of the State or a county, upon the
death of the retired member;



(5)  The surviving child of a deceased retired
employee, if the child is unmarried and under the age of nineteen; or



(6)  The surviving spouse of a deceased retired
employee, if the surviving spouse does not subsequently remarry;



provided that the employee, the employee's
beneficiary, or the  beneficiary of the deceased retired employee is deemed
eligible by the board to participate in a health benefits plan or long-term
care benefits plan under this chapter.



"Fund" means the Hawaii
employer-union health benefits trust fund established in section 87A-30.



"Health benefits plan" means:



(1)  A group insurance contract or service agreement
that may include medical, hospital, surgical, prescribed drugs, vision, and
dental services, in which a carrier agrees to provide, pay for, arrange for, or
reimburse the cost of the services as determined by the board; or



(2)  A similar schedule of benefits established by the
board and provided through the fund on a self-insured basis.



"Long-term care benefits plan" means:



(1)  A group insurance contract or service agreement
in which a carrier agrees to provide, pay for, arrange for, or reimburse the
cost of long-term care benefits as determined by the board; or



(2)  A similar schedule of benefits established by the
board and provided through the fund on a self-insured basis.



"Part-time, temporary, and seasonal or
casual employee" means a person employed for fewer than three months and
whose employment is less than one-half of a full-time equivalent position.



"Periodic charge" means the periodic
payment by the board to a carrier for any health benefits plan or long-term
care benefits plan.



"Qualified-beneficiary" means, for
purposes of the long-term care benefits plan, a former employee or an employee
who is not eligible for benefits due to a reduction in work hours, including
the spouse, divorced spouse, parents, grandparents, in-law parents, and in-law
grandparents of an employee or retiree; provided that the beneficiary was
enrolled in the plan before the employee or former employee became ineligible
for benefits.



"State agency" includes the office of
Hawaiian affairs.



"Trustee" means a trustee of the
board of trustees of the Hawaii employer-union health benefits trust fund, as
described in section 87A-5. [L 2001, c 88, pt of §1; am L 2003, c 152, §1]