21.427 Group hospital and medical insurance for recipients of benefits -- Premium reimbursement plan -- Coordination with all state-administered retirement systems or plans.

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Page 1 of 2 21.427 Group hospital and medical insurance for recipients of benefits -- Premium reimbursement plan -- Coordination with all state-administered retirement systems or plans. (1) (a) The board of trustees of the Judicial Form Retirement System shall arrange by appropriate contract or on a self-insured basis for a group hospital and medical insurance plan for recipients of a retirement allowance from the Judicial Retirement Plan, and their dependents. For recipients, or dependents, eligible for Medicare coverage, the board shall provide Medicare supplement hospital and medical insurance coverage. For recipients, or dependents, not eligible for Medicare coverage, the board shall provide hospital and medical insurance coverage comparable to that provided under the major state employees' group insurance, and the board may arrange for the recipients to be included in the major state employees group. For recipients of a retirement allowance who are not eligible for the same level of hospital and medical benefits as recipients living in Kentucky, the board shall provide a medical insurance premium reimbursement plan as described in subsection (3) of this section. (b) For the purpose of this section, the "dependent" of a recipient means the spouse or minor children, or both, of a recipient who is a living former member of the Judicial Retirement Plan, or the minor children of a deceased former member whose surviving spouse is the recipient. (2) (a) Depending upon the number of months of service credit upon which the retirement allowance was based, and upon there having been at least forty- eight (48) months of judicial service, all or a portion of the premium required to provide hospital and medical benefits under this section shall be paid from the judicial retirement fund, as follows: Months of Judicial Service Percentage of Premium 240 or more 100% 180 to 239, inclusive 75% 120 to 179, inclusive 50% 48 to 119, inclusive 25% The foregoing payments shall be made by the fund only if the recipient agrees to pay the remaining, if any, percentage of the premium by deduction from his retirement allowance or by another method equally insuring the payment by him. (b) Notwithstanding any other statute to the contrary, any member with at least forty-eight (48) months of judicial service who is also eligible for benefits, or who is receiving benefits from any retirement plan or system administered by the Commonwealth shall be entitled to hospital and medical benefits as described in paragraph (a) of this subsection except that the number of months of service credit used in calculating the level of benefits shall be the sum of service credited to the member in all the state-administered retirement systems or plans. 1. Upon request of the member, the Judicial Retirement System shall compute the member's combined service in all the state-administered Page 2 of 2 retirement systems or plans and calculate the portion of the member's premium to be paid by the Judicial Retirement Plan, according to the criteria established in paragraph (a) of this subsection. The state- administered retirement systems or plans shall pay to the Judicial Retirement Plan the applicable percentage of the plan's cost of the retiree's hospital and medical premium which shall be equal to the percentage of the member's number of months of service in the applicable state-administered retirement systems or plans divided by his total combined service. The amounts paid by all the state-administered retirement systems or plans shall not be more than one hundred percent (100%) of the premium amount adopted by the respective boards of trustees. 2. A member who elects hospital and medical benefits under this subsection shall lose any claim to insurance benefits under any of the other state-administered retirement systems or plans. (3) The board shall establish a medical insurance premium reimbursement plan for recipients of a retirement allowance who are not eligible for the same level of hospital and medical benefits as recipients living in Kentucky having the same Medicare hospital and medical insurance eligibility status. An eligible recipient shall file proof of payment for hospital and medical insurance premiums at the retirement office. Reimbursement to eligible recipients shall be made on a quarterly basis. The recipient shall be eligible for reimbursement of substantiated medical insurance premiums for an amount not to exceed the total monthly contribution determined by the board of trustees. The plan shall not be made available if all recipients are eligible for the same level of coverage as recipients living in Kentucky. (4) Premiums paid for hospital and medical insurance procured under this section shall be exempt from any premium tax which might otherwise be required under KRS Chapter 136. The payment of premiums by the judicial retirement fund shall not constitute income to the recipient. No commission shall be paid for hospital and medical insurance procured under this section. Effective: July 14, 2000 History: Amended 2000 Ky. Acts ch. 448, sec. 1, effective July 14, 2000. -- Amended 1998 Ky. Acts ch. 389, sec. 3, effective July 15, 1998. -- Amended 1996 Ky. Acts ch. 167, sec. 30, effective July 15, 1996. -- Created 1988 Ky. Acts ch. 299, sec. 6, effective July 1, 1988.