Section 12-126.3. Health insurance coverage and welfare fund benefits of certain retirees and their dependents

a.  Definitions.  The  following  terms,  as  used  in  this  section,  shall have the following meanings,
  unless a different meaning is plainly required by the context:
    (1) "Pre-merger transit police retiree". A  member  of  the  uniformed
  force  of  the  former  transit  police  department of the New York city
  transit authority who retired as such a member prior to April thirtieth,
  nineteen hundred ninety-five or retired thereafter as such  an  employee
  as  a  result  of  an  application  to  retire filed prior to such April
  thirtieth.
    (2) "Pre-merger civilian retiree of the transit police department". An
  employee of such former transit police department who was not  a  member
  of  its  uniformed  force  and  who retired as such an employee prior to
  April thirtieth, nineteen hundred ninety-five or retired  thereafter  as
  such  an employee as a result of an application to retire filed prior to
  such April thirtieth.
    (3) "Pre-merger housing police retiree". A  member  of  the  uniformed
  force  of  the  former  housing  police  department of the New York city
  housing authority who retired as such a member prior to April thirtieth,
  nineteen hundred ninety-five or retired thereafter as such  an  employee
  as  a  result  of  an  application  to  retire filed prior to such April
  thirtieth.
    (4) "Pre-merger civilian retiree of the housing police department". An
  employee of such former housing police department who was not  a  member
  of  its  uniformed  force  and  who retired as such an employee prior to
  April thirtieth, nineteen hundred ninety-five  or  retired  as  such  an
  employee  thereafter as a result of an application to retire filed prior
  to such April thirtieth.
    (5)    "Health     insurance     coverage".     The     program     of
  hospital-surgical-medical  benefits provided to participants therein and
  their dependents at city cost pursuant to section 12-126 of this chapter
  and any supplements to such program (i) provided for  by  an  applicable
  collective  bargaining  agreement  (or other similar instrument) or (ii)
  provided by other action or practice of the city and/or  an  appropriate
  public  employee  organization representing employees of the city police
  department.
    (6)  "Welfare  fund  benefits".  The  benefits  provided  to  eligible
  participants  and  their  dependents pursuant to (i) the provisions of a
  collective bargaining agreement  (or  other  similar  instrument)  which
  denominates  such  benefits  as  welfare fund benefits or (ii) a welfare
  fund agreement executed pursuant to a  collective  bargaining  agreement
  (or  other  similar  instrument)  and  benefits provided as welfare fund
  benefits pursuant to other action or practice  of  the  city  and/or  an
  appropriate  employee  organization  representing  employees of the city
  police department.
    (7) "Appropriate public employee organization  representing  employees
  of  the  city  police  department".  The  certified or recognized public
  employee organization under article fourteen of the  civil  service  law
  and chapter three of title twelve of the code which represents employees
  of the police department of the city who have a title and rank which are
  the  same  as  or  equivalent  to  the title and rank which a pre-merger
  retiree had at the time of the retirement of such pre-merger retiree.
    (8) "Pre-merger retiree". A retiree identified in  any  of  paragraphs
  one, two, three and four of this subdivision.
    (9)  "Similarly  situated  retiree  of  the city police department". A
  person (i) who retired as an employee of the police  department  of  the
  city  on  a date the same as the retirement date of a pre-merger retiree
  and (ii) whose title and rank on the date of retirement were the same as

  or equivalent to the title and rank of such pre-merger  retiree  at  the
  time of the retirement of such pre-merger retiree.
    b.  Health  insurance  coverage  and  welfare  fund  benefits shall be
  provided pursuant to the provisions of this section to  each  pre-merger
  transit  police  retiree and each pre-merger housing police retiree, and
  the dependents of each such retiree, in the same manner and to the  same
  extent  as  if such retiree, at the time of his or her retirement, was a
  similarly situated retiree of the city police department.
    c. (1) Subject to the provisions of paragraphs two and three  of  this
  subdivision,  health  insurance coverage and welfare fund benefits shall
  be  provided  pursuant  to  the  provisions  of  this  section  to  each
  pre-merger  civilian  retiree  of the transit police department and each
  pre-merger civilian retiree of the housing police  department,  and  the
  dependents  of  each  such  retiree,  in the same manner and to the same
  extent as if such retiree, at the time of his or her retirement,  was  a
  similarly situated retiree of the city police department.
    (2)  Where  any  civilian retiree referred to in paragraph one of this
  subdivision was not entitled, under the collective bargaining  agreement
  (or  other similar instrument) and/or employer-provided health insurance
  program applicable to such retiree  immediately  prior  to  his  or  her
  retirement, to reimbursement by his or her employer for the whole or any
  part  of  Medicare  premiums paid, such retiree shall not be entitled to
  reimbursement under this section for the whole or any part  of  Medicare
  premiums paid.
    (3)  Subject  to  the provisions of paragraph two of this subdivision,
  all costs of  providing  health  insurance  coverage  and  welfare  fund
  benefits   to   pre-merger  civilian  retirees  of  the  housing  police
  department shall be paid by the New York city housing authority.
    d. In relation to providing health insurance coverage and welfare fund
  benefits pursuant to the preceding provisions of this  section  to  each
  pre-merger  retiree,  the  respective powers and obligations of the city
  and the appropriate employee organization representing employees of  the
  city  police department (subject to the provisions of paragraphs two and
  three of subdivision c of this section) shall be the same as in the case
  of a similarly situated retiree of the city police department.
    e.  Subject  to  the  provisions  of  paragraphs  two  and  three   of
  subdivision  c  of  this  section,  the  costs  of  providing the health
  insurance coverage and welfare fund benefits prescribed by the preceding
  subdivisions of this section to each pre-merger retiree shall be paid by
  the city and/or paid by or shared with the appropriate  public  employee
  organization representing employees of the city police department in the
  same  manner  and  to  the  same  extent  as the city and/or such public
  employee organization  pay  or  share  such  costs  with  respect  to  a
  similarly situated retiree of the city police department.
    f. Nothing contained in this section shall be construed as amending or
  altering  any  provision of article fourteen of the civil service law or
  chapter three of title twelve of the code.
    * NB There are 2 § 12-126.3's