2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE THREE - Executive (§§ 1 — 9311) › Chapter 31 - Compensation and Benefits of Government Personnel (§§ 721 — 757k) › § 729h - Public Employees Health Benefits Act—Contributions

(a) The Government employer contribution for health benefits for employees covered by health benefit plans under §§ 729a–729n of this title shall be fixed in the General Budget of Expenses and shall not be less than five dollars ($5) monthly in the case of the municipalities nor one hundred dollars ($100) monthly for the employees of rest of the Government dependencies, and one hundred dollars ($100) for the pensioners of the Employees Retirement System of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and the pensioners of the Teachers of Puerto Rico Retirement System, but shall not exceed the total amount of the corresponding fee to be paid to any employee.
Provided, That said employer contribution to the health plans of public employees not covered by §§ 1451 et seq. of this title, and for those who are, but that as of February 29, 2004, had not signed agreements with related financial clauses, the same shall take effect as of October 1, 2004. On the other hand, employees covered by the provisions of said §§ 1451 et seq. of this title, in turn, have agreements signed up to February 29, 2004, that include clauses on employer contributions shall receive one hundred dollars ($100) as of July 1, 2004. Likewise, in the cases in which the agreement provides a lesser amount than the amount proposed through this legislation shall receive the amount that is necessary to complete the proposed employer contribution of one hundred dollars ($100) monthly as of July 1, 2004. It is further Provided, That those employees covered by clauses with an employer contribution greater than one hundred dollars ($100) monthly may receive the difference, if the agency contributes the additional costs thus entailed.
With respect to Puerto Rico Police officers, as the term officer is defined in § 3101(a) of Title 25, known as the “Puerto Rico Police Act of 1996”, the employer contribution for their health benefits plan shall not be less than one hundred twenty-five dollars ($125) monthly.
(b) There shall be withheld from the salary or pension of each employee voluntarily enrolled in a benefit plan provided by §§ 729a–729m of this title, so much as it is necessary after deducting the contribution of the Government, to pay the total charge for his enrollment. No deduction shall be made for the payment of medical and hospital services from the salaries of teachers who are members of the Teachers Association of Puerto Rico, or their relatives who are public employees and are enrolled in the Medico-Hospital Service Program operated by the Association, to whom the provisions of § 729j of this title shall apply.
(c) An employee enrolled in a health benefit plan under §§ 729a—729n of this title who is placed on a leave without pay status may have his coverage continued under such plan for a period not to exceed one year in accordance with regulations prescribed by the Administration. In such cases, it shall be the duty of the employee to arrange directly with the carrier for the payment of the benefits contracted for regarding himself and his family members, as defined in § 729c of this title. Such regulations may provide for the discontinuance of contributions of the employee and the Government.
(d) Government employer contributions with respect to employees in active service shall be included in the General Budget of Expenses of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
The employer contribution corresponding to pensioners of the Employees Retirement System of the Commonwealth Government and its Instrumentalities, the Judiciary Retirement System and the Annuity and Pension System for the Teachers of Puerto Rico shall be cosigned in the General Budget of Expenses of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico as an additional contribution to said systems.
It is hereby Provided, that the Office of Management and Budget shall be empowered to provide through reimbursement the cost of the increase in employer contributions, to be charged against the appropriations included for such purposes in the Joint Resolution for the General Budget of Expenses. However, said reimbursement shall only cover the wages that are defrayed with resources obtained from the General Fund. It is provided that those employees that according to the dates established herein are qualified to receive this income, but who receive income from other funds, shall receive the same increases chargeable to the special federal and state funds from which they receive their income. In order to obtain this reimbursement, each agency that defrays such an increase from the General Fund shall submit a certified itemized list of the employees that qualify for the increase to the Office of Management and Budget, as the latter shall provide. Said certification shall be received at the Office of Management and Budget not later than October 31, 2004.
History —June 29, 1963, No. 95, p. 280, § 8; June 16, 1966, No. 52, p. 191; June 19, 1969, No. 38, p. 72; Mar. 25, 1976, No. 18, p. 40, § 4; May 30, 1976, No. 90, p. 268; Oct. 5, 1987, No. 1, p. 693, retroactive to Oct. 1, 1987; Aug. 17, 2001, No. 125, § 1; July 31, 2003, No. 172, § 1; Sept. 23, 2004, No. 483, § 1; Apr. 4, 2013, No. 3, § 35; June 26, 2013, No. 36, § 5; July 11, 2013, No. 57, § 1.