Section 92-A. Medical, surgical and hospital services or insurance for officers, employees and retired officers and employees of public corporations and their families

1. As used in this section, the term  "public corporation" shall mean  a  municipal  corporation,  a  district
  corporation,  a  school  district,  a consolidated health district and a
  county or town special district or a joint special district, governed by
  a separate board  of  commissioners.  Officers,  employees  and  retired
  officers and employees of a county or town special district which is not
  governed  by  a  separate  board  of commissioners shall be deemed to be
  county  or  town  officers  and  employees,  or  retired  officers   and
  employees, respectively.
    1-a.  As used in this section the term "retired officer" shall include
  any former school board member with twenty years or more service in such
  position. The total cost of participation by such  former  school  board
  members and their families shall be borne by such former members.
    2.  A  public  corporation  may  contract with a non-profit membership
  corporation, organized under article forty-three of  the  insurance  law
  and  approved  by the superintendent of insurance and the state board of
  social welfare, or with any insurance company authorized to do  business
  in  this  state  for  the  purpose  of  furnishing  medical and surgical
  services and hospital service as defined in such article forty-three, or
  medical and surgical and hospital insurance to persons who contract with
  such non-profit membership corporation  or  insurance  company,  or  who
  subscribe to a plan or plans, as hereinafter provided. Any such contract
  entered  into  by  a  public  corporation  shall  permit  any officer or
  employee or group of officers or employees of an agency or department of
  the public corporation voluntarily to  subscribe  to  a  plan  or  plans
  providing  for  medical  and  surgical  and  hospital  insurance for, or
  medical and surgical services and hospital service to, such officers  or
  employees and their families. Any such contract entered into by a public
  corporation  may,  if  authorized  by  the  governing  board or body and
  subject to such conditions, limitations and eligibility requirements  as
  may  be  fixed  by  such  board or body, permit any retired officers and
  employees or group of retired officers and employees  of  an  agency  or
  department  of the public corporation voluntarily to subscribe to such a
  plan or plans to provide such insurance for or service to themselves and
  their families. The comptroller  or  other  disbursing  officer  of  the
  public corporation, or of any fund out of which officers or employees of
  such public corporation are paid, is authorized to deduct from the wages
  or  salary  of such contracting or subscribing officer or employee, with
  his prior consent, in writing, the sums required  to  be  paid  by  such
  officer  or  employee  to  such  non-profit  membership  corporation  or
  insurance company. Such public corporation, if  such  contract  or  plan
  provides  that the employer shall contribute a share of the cost of such
  medical and surgical services  and  hospital  service,  or  medical  and
  surgical  and  hospital  insurance,  for  its  officers and employees or
  retired officers and employees,  is  authorized  to  appropriate  a  sum
  required  to  be  paid  under such contract by the public corporation as
  employer. The sum  to  be  paid  by  it  under  such  contract,  in  the
  discretion  of  such  public  corporation,  may be any percentage of the
  total cost including the whole thereof. Where the  compensation  of  any
  officer  or  employee  whose position is covered by medical and surgical
  services and hospital service  or  medical  and  surgical  and  hospital
  insurance   pursuant   to  this  section  is  paid  from  a  special  or
  administrative fund provided for by law, the contributions  required  to
  be  paid  by the public corporation for such coverage shall be paid from
  such special or administrative fund. The  public  corporation  shall  be
  authorized  to pay directly to such non-profit membership corporation or

  to such insurance company, the total of such appropriation and  of  such
  officer and employee deductions.
    3.  The  authority  conferred upon public corporations by this section
  shall be in addition to and in no way a limitation  upon  the  authority
  conferred  upon  such public corporations to provide the same or similar
  benefits for their officers and employees pursuant to article eleven  of
  the civil service law.
    4. The provisions of this section shall apply to school board members,
  provided  however,  that  the total cost of participation by such school
  board members and their families shall be borne by such members.
    5. Any contract or contracts made pursuant to this section by  a  city
  with  a  population  of  one million or more inhabitants and any plan or
  plans  effectuated  by  any  such  contract  or   contracts   shall   be
  administered  by  the department of personnel or the office of municipal
  labor relations of such city, or if  there  be  no  such  department  or
  office  therein,  by a department, agency, or officer thereof designated
  by the mayor of such city.
    6. (a) Notwithstanding any  general,  special  or  local  law  to  the
  contrary,  the  governing board of a public corporation that, in lieu of
  contracting pursuant to subdivision  two  of  this  section,  self-funds
  medical,  surgical  or hospital benefits, may enter into agreements with
  duly qualified contract administrators or  other  service  providers  to
  receive,  investigate,  make  recommendations on, audit, approve or make
  payment of claims for such benefits. Such agreements  shall  be  entered
  into  pursuant  to competitive bidding, or written request for proposals
  in accordance with the procurement policies and procedures of the public
  corporation adopted pursuant to  section  one  hundred  four-b  of  this
  chapter.
    (b)  In  order to authorize the payment of claims for benefits audited
  and approved by a contract administrator or other service  provider,  an
  agreement  entered  into  pursuant  to this subdivision may provide that
  after claims have been audited by the contract  administrator  or  other
  service  provider,  the contract administrator or other service provider
  shall periodically inform the public corporation  of  the  total  amount
  payable  in  satisfaction  of  the audited and approved claims, together
  with such other supporting information as  the  public  corporation  may
  require,  and  the public corporation may transfer moneys in that amount
  to the contract administrator or other service provider for disbursement
  to the claimants entitled thereto. Any such agreement shall provide that
  if a check  issued  by  the  contract  administrator  or  other  service
  provider  in  satisfaction  of  a claim remains unpaid after one hundred
  eighty days, the moneys payable in satisfaction of that claim  shall  be
  returned to the public corporation.
    (c)  Any  agreement  entered  into  pursuant to this subdivision shall
  contain, at a minimum, the following:
    (i) a clear statement of the charges, fees or other  compensation  for
  the services provided under the agreement;
    (ii)  a  statement  that  payment  for the services provided under the
  agreement shall be made only after the services are rendered;
    (iii) a provision stating that the  contract  administrator  or  other
  service provider to which functions are delegated shall be liable to the
  public  corporation  for  all  loss  or  damage that may result from any
  failure by the contract  administrator  or  other  service  provider  to
  discharge  their  duties, or from any improper or incorrect discharge of
  those duties, and a provision that  expressly  reserves  to  the  public
  corporation  all  legal rights of set-off. The contract administrator or
  service provider shall save the public  corporation  free  and  harmless

  from  any  and  all loss occasioned by or incurred in the performance of
  services under an agreement pursuant to this subdivision;
    (iv) a provision requiring the contract administrator or other service
  provider  to  furnish  a  surety  bond,  irrevocable letter of credit or
  equivalent security, in a form and amount acceptable  to  the  governing
  board  of the public corporation, to secure the contract administrator's
  or other service provider's performance under the agreement;
    (v) a  provision  requiring  the  contract  administrator  or  service
  provider  to  establish,  maintain  and  retain  for  a specified period
  complete and accurate books,  records,  documents,  accounts  and  other
  evidence  pertinent  to  performance  under the agreement, and to submit
  quarterly and annual reports, in a  form  acceptable  to  the  governing
  board  of  the  public  corporation, detailing the payment of claims and
  other activities of the contract administrator or other service provider
  during the relevant period. The auditing body or official of the  public
  corporation  shall  have  access to and may examine such books, records,
  documents, accounts and other evidence pertinent  to  performance  under
  the  agreement  upon  reasonable notice to the contract administrator or
  service provider;
    (vi) a provision requiring an annual audit, and opinions  thereon,  by
  an independent certified public accountant, of the accounting procedures
  and  internal  control procedures of the contract administrator or other
  service provider;
    (vii) a provision by which the contract administrator or other service
  provider agrees to maintain the confidentiality of  medical  records  in
  its possession and that such confidentiality may only be waived upon the
  written consent of the covered person; and
    (viii)  a  provision  by  which  the  contract  administrator or other
  service provider acknowledges that those records maintained on behalf of
  the public corporation are subject to the provisions of article  six  of
  the public officers law.
    (d)  A  contract  entered into pursuant to this section shall be for a
  term not to exceed five years,  except  that  it  shall  be  subject  to
  cancellation  by the municipal corporation at any time upon thirty days'
  notice.
    7. The  provisions  of  this  section  shall  apply  for  coverage  of
  volunteer  firefighters,  as  defined  in section three of the volunteer
  firefighters' benefit law, and volunteer ambulance workers,  as  defined
  in  subdivision one of section three of the volunteer ambulance workers'
  benefit law, provided however, that the total cost of  participation  by
  such volunteers and their families shall be borne by such volunteers.