2023 New York Laws › CVS - Civil Service › Article 11 - Health Benefits for State and Retired State Employees › 163 - Eligibility for Benefits.

§ 163. Eligibility  for benefits. 1. All persons in the service of the
  state, whether elected, appointed or employed, who elect to  participate
  in  such  health  benefit plan shall be eligible to participate therein,
  provided, however, that the president may adopt such regulations  as  he
  or   she   may  deem  appropriate  excluding  temporary,  part  time  or
  intermittent employment.
2. The contract or contracts shall provide  for  health  benefits  for
  retired employees of the state and of the state colleges of agriculture,
  home  economics, industrial labor relations and veterinary medicine, the
  state  agricultural  experiment  station  at  Geneva,  and   any   other
  institution  or  agency  under  the  management  and  control of Cornell
  university as the representative of the board of trustees of  the  state
  university  of  New  York,  and  the state college of ceramics under the
  management and control of Alfred university as the representative of the
  board of trustees of the state university of New York, and their spouses
  and dependent children as defined by the regulations of  the  president,
  on  such  terms as the president may deem appropriate, and the president
  may authorize the inclusion in the plan of  the  employees  and  retired
  employees  of  public  authorities,  public benefit corporations, school
  districts,   special   districts,   district   corporations,   municipal
  corporations  excluding active employees and retired employees of cities
  having  a  population  of  one  million  or   more   inhabitants   whose
  compensation  is or was before retirement paid out of the city treasury,
  or   other   appropriate   agencies,   subdivisions   or    quasi-public
  organizations  of  the state, including active members of volunteer fire
  and  volunteer  ambulance  companies  serving  one  or  more   municipal
  corporations  pursuant  to  subdivision seven of section ninety-two-a of
  the general municipal law, and their spouses and dependent  children  as
  defined  by the regulations of the president. Notwithstanding any law or
  regulation to  the  contrary,  active  members  of  volunteer  ambulance
  companies  serving  one  or  more  municipal  corporations  pursuant  to
  subdivision seven of section ninety-two-a of the general  municipal  law
  shall  be eligible for health benefits regardless of the amount of funds
  derived from public sources. Any such corporation, district,  agency  or
  organization  electing  to  participate in the plan shall be required to
  pay its proportionate share of the expenses  of  administration  of  the
  plan  in  such  amounts and at such times as determined and fixed by the
  president. All amounts payable for such expenses of administration shall
  be paid to the commissioner of taxation and finance and shall be applied
  to the reimbursement of funds previously  advanced  for  such  purposes.
  Neither the state nor any other participant in the plan shall be charged
  with  the  particular  experience  attributable  to the employees of the
  participant, and all dividends or  retroactive  rate  credits  shall  be
  distributed  pro-rata  based  upon  the  number  of  employees  of  such
  participant covered by the plan.
3. The president shall adopt regulations  prescribing  the  conditions
  under  which an employee or retired employee may elect to participate in
  or  withdraw  from  the  plan.  Such  regulations  may  also   prescribe
  conditions  under  which an employee whose service terminates and who is
  entitled to a vested retirement allowance may continue to participate in
  the plan; such condition shall include a requirement  that  such  person
  pay  the  full  cost  of  such  coverage  following  termination  of his
  employment and prior to commencement of the payment  of  his  retirement
  allowance,  unless such person becomes currently entitled to, but defers
  receipt of, a retirement allowance  or  pension  from  a  retirement  or
  pension  plan  or  system  administered and operated by the state of New
  York, or  a  civil  division  thereof,  including  the  New  York  state
  teachers'   retirement  system  and  the  optional  retirement  programs

  established under article three, part V,  and  article  eight-B  of  the
  education law.
4.  Any public authority, public benefit corporation, school district,
  special district, district corporation, municipal corporation, or  other
  agency,  subdivision  or  quasi-public  organization of the state, whose
  employees and retired employees are authorized to  be  included  in  the
  plan  as  provided  by subdivision two, may elect to participate in such
  plan. Any such  election  shall  be  exercised  by  the  adoption  of  a
  resolution  by  its  governing  body  and,  in the case of any municipal
  corporation where a resolution of its governing body is required by  law
  to  be approved by any other body or officer, such resolution shall also
  be approved by such other body or officer. Any such election may be made
  with respect to inclusion in the plan of  both  its  employees  and  its
  retired  employees at the same time, or may be made only with respect to
  its employees alone and at another time  with  respect  to  its  retired
  employees.   Any   such   authority,   corporation,   district,  agency,
  subdivision  or  organization  making  such  election  shall  become   a
  participating  employer  under  such  plan, subject to and in accordance
  with the regulations of the president relating thereto.
5. The chief fiscal officer of any such participating  employer  shall
  be  authorized  to deduct from the wages or salary paid to its employees
  who are participants in such health benefit plan the sums required to be
  paid by them under  such  plan.  Each  such  participating  employer  is
  authorized  to appropriate such sums as are required to be paid by it as
  its share in connection with the operation of such plan.
6.  The  president  shall  have  power  and  authority  to  make  such
  inspection  of  the  employment and payroll records of any participating
  employer concerning any of its employees who  are  participants  in  the
  health insurance fund as he may deem necessary.
7. For purposes of eligibility for participation in the health benefit
  plan  no  person shall be deemed to be a state officer or employee or to
  be in the service of the state unless his salary or compensation is paid
  directly by the state, and no person shall be deemed  to  be  a  retired
  officer  or  employee  of  the  state  unless his salary or compensation
  immediately preceding his retirement was paid  directly  by  the  state;
  provided,  however,  that  all  active  and  retired  justices,  judges,
  officers and employees of the supreme court, surrogate's  court,  county
  court, family court, civil court of the city of New York, criminal court
  of  the  city of New York and district court in any county, officers and
  employees of the office of probation for the courts  of  New  York  city
  shall  be  eligible for participation in the health benefit plan whether
  or not their salaries are paid or before retirement were  paid  directly
  by the state.
8.  Notwithstanding any other law, rule or regulation to the contrary,
  where the state and an employee organization representing state officers
  and  employees  who  are  in  positions  which  are  in  the  collective
  negotiating  unit  established by chapter four hundred three of the laws
  of nineteen hundred eighty-three enter into  a  collectively  negotiated
  agreement  pursuant  to  article fourteen of this chapter providing that
  officers and employees who hold positions in such unit on or after April
  first, nineteen hundred eighty-four and who immediately upon termination
  from such position are eligible to receive  a  retirement  benefit  from
  either  the  New  York  state  or New York city retirement systems shall
  continue to be eligible to participate  in  the  employee  benefit  fund
  established  by section two hundred six-a of the state finance law, such
  officers and employees upon retirement shall continue to participate  in
  and  receive  the benefits of such fund as provided in such collectively
  negotiated agreement and shall not be eligible to receive and shall  not

  receive  from  the statewide health benefit plan established pursuant to
  this article coverage for benefits  covered  by  such  employee  benefit
  fund.