Section 162. Contract for health insurance

1.  The  president is hereby
  authorized and directed to purchase a contract or contracts  to  provide
  the benefits under the plan of health insurance benefits determined upon
  in  accordance  with  the  provisions  of this article. Such contract or
  contracts shall be purchased from one or more corporations  licensed  to
  transact accident and health insurance business in this state or subject
  to  article  forty-three of the insurance law. All of the benefits to be
  provided under this article may be  included  in  one  or  more  similar
  contracts,  or  the benefits may be classified into different types with
  each type included under one or more similar  contracts  issued  by  the
  same or different companies.
    2.  A  reasonable  time  before  entering  into any insurance contract
  hereunder, the president shall  invite  proposals  from  such  qualified
  insurers  as  in  his  opinion  would  desire  to accept any part of the
  insurance coverage authorized by this article.
    3. The president may arrange with any corporation licensed to transact
  accident and health insurance business  in  this  state  or  subject  to
  article  forty-three  of  the insurance law issuing any such contract to
  reinsure portions of such contract with any other such corporation which
  elects to be a reinsurer and  is  legally  competent  to  enter  into  a
  reinsurance agreement.
    4. The president may designate one or more of such corporations as the
  administering corporation or corporations.
    5.  Each  employee who is covered under any such contract or contracts
  shall receive a certificate setting forth  the  benefits  to  which  the
  employee  and  his  dependents  are  entitled  thereunder,  to whom such
  benefits shall be payable, to  whom  claims  should  be  submitted,  and
  summarizing  the  provisions  of  the contract principally affecting the
  employee and his dependents. Such certificate shall be in  lieu  of  the
  certificate  which the corporation or corporations issuing such contract
  or contracts would otherwise issue.
    6. The corporations eligible to participate  as  reinsurers,  and  the
  amount  of  coverage  under the contract or contracts to be allocated to
  each issuing corporation  or  reinsurer,  may  be  redetermined  by  the
  president  for  and in advance of any contract year after the first year
  on a basis consistent with subdivision three of this section,  and  with
  any  modifications  thereof he deems appropriate to carry out the intent
  of such subdivision.
    7. The president shall not purchase any contract or contracts for  any
  period except upon the prior approval of the director of the budget.
    8.   The  president  may,  on  March  thirty-first,  nineteen  hundred
  fifty-seven or at the end of any fiscal year thereafter, discontinue any
  contract  or  contracts  he  has  purchased  from  any  corporation   or
  corporations  and replace it or them with a contract or contracts in any
  other corporation or  corporations  meeting  the  requirements  of  this
  section.