Section 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 insurance plan shall be eligible to participate therein,
  provided, however, that the president may adopt such regulations  as  he
  may  deem  appropriate  excluding  temporary,  part time or intermittent
  employment.
    2. The contract or contracts shall provide for  health  insurance  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 and their spouses and dependent children as
  defined by the regulations  of  the  president.  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 insurance 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
  insurance 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 insurance 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 insurance plan established pursuant to
  this  article  coverage  for  benefits  covered by such employee benefit
  fund.