Bill Text: NJ S2851 | 2014-2015 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Requires local units and agencies to extend family health coverage for six months to surviving spouse and dependents of public safety officers who had family medical coverage but did not die in the line of duty.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2015-05-07 - Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate State Government, Wagering, Tourism & Historic Preservation Committee [S2851 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2014-S2851-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Senator DIANE B. ALLEN
District 7 (Burlington)
SYNOPSIS
Requires local units and agencies to extend family health coverage for six months to surviving spouse and dependents of public safety officers who had family medical coverage but did not die in the line of duty.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning extended family health coverage for certain deceased public safety employees and amending N.J.S.40A:10-17 and N.J.S.40A:10-20.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. N.J.S.40A:10-17 is amended to read as follows:
40A:10-17. Any local unit or agency thereof, herein referred to as employers, may:
a. Enter into contracts of group life, accidental death and dismemberment, hospitalization, dental, medical, surgical, major medical expense, or health and accident insurance with any insurance company or companies authorized to do business in this State, or may contract with a nonprofit hospital service or medical service or dental service corporation with respect to the benefits which they are authorized to provide respectively. The contract or contracts shall provide any one or more of such coverages for the employees of such employer and may include their dependents;
b. Enter into a contract or contracts to provide drug prescription and other health care benefits, or enter into a contract or contracts to provide drug prescription and other health care benefits as may be required to implement a duly executed collective negotiation agreement, or as may be required to implement a determination by a local unit to provide such benefit or benefits to employees not included in collective negotiations units;
c. Enter into a contract with an insurance company authorized to do business in this State to provide to its employees on a group or individual basis, individual retirement annuities, as defined by section 408(b) of the Federal Internal Revenue Code of 1954 as amended (26 U.S.C. s. 408(b)). The contract shall provide for coverage under these annuities of any employee of the employer and may provide for the establishment of annuities on behalf of the spouse of the employee.
d. Whenever a local unit enters into a contract with an insurance company to provide medical, drug, or other health care benefits to public safety employees who are employed as police officers, firefighters, or emergency medical technicians, it shall negotiate a benefit that provides six months of post-death coverage to the surviving spouse and dependents of a public safety employee whose cause of death was not in the line of duty, and who had elected family coverage.
Nothing herein contained shall be deemed to authorize coverage of dependents of an employee under a group life insurance policy or to allow the issuance of a group life insurance policy under which the entire premium is to be derived from funds contributed by the insured employees.
(cf: P.L.1983, c.445, s.2)
2. N.J.S.40A:10-20 is amended to read as follows:
a. The coverage of any employee, and of his dependents, if any, shall cease upon the discontinuance of his employment or upon cessation of active full-time employment in the classes eligible for coverage subject to such provision as may be made in any contract by his employer for limited continuance of coverage during disability, part-time employment, leave of absence other than leave for military service or layoff, and for continuance of coverage after retirement.
b. Medical, drug, or other health care coverage for the surviving spouse and dependents of a deceased public safety officer employee who served as a police officer, firefighter, or emergency medical technician for the employer shall continue for six full calendar months following the death of the employee, notwithstanding that the death was not in the line of duty, provided that the public safety officer employee had family medical insurance coverage at the time of death. The employer may require the surviving spouse and dependents to pay the cost of the insurance premium for the six-month coverage period at the same contribution rate as charged to the employee at the time of death. This shall include coverage under the State Health Benefits Program.
(cf: N.J.S.40A:10-20)
3. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
The purpose of this bill is to ensure a six-month continuation of family medical coverage for the spouse and dependents of a deceased police officer, firefighter, or emergency medical technician who did not die in the line of duty. Under current law, the employee's family medical coverage terminates upon death, because the employment has terminated. The families of public safety officers who die in the line of duty are covered for medical insurance by other provisions of law. In order to ensure that the surviving spouse and dependents are not charged an excessive premium for the six-month medical coverage extension, the bill requires the employer to negotiate an extended coverage provision with the medical insurance carrier.
