Section 7000 Of Article 1. Health And Welfare Benefits From California Education Code >> Division 1. >> Title 1. >> Part 5. >> Chapter 1. >> Article 1.
7000
. (a) Notwithstanding Article 1 (commencing with Section 53200)
of Chapter 2 of Part 1 of Division 2 of Title 5 of the Government
Code, a county superintendent of schools, a school district, or a
community college district, which provides health and welfare
benefits or dental care benefits for the benefit of its certificated
employees, shall permit enrollment in, respectively, the health and
welfare benefit plan or dental care benefit plan currently provided
for its current certificated employees by any former certificated
employee thereof who retired therefrom under any public retirement
system and his or her spouse and by any surviving spouse of a former
certificated employee thereof who either retired therefrom under any
public retirement system or was, at the time of death, both employed
thereby in a position requiring contributions to the State Teachers'
Retirement System and a member of the State Teachers' Retirement
System.
This subdivision does not apply to either the new spouse upon the
remarriage of a surviving spouse of a former certificated employee or
the children of a certificated or former certificated employee.
(b) A county superintendent of schools or district may develop an
experience claims rating for the persons specified in subdivision (a)
and may, if appropriate, require those persons to pay different
rates as a class. Any plan pursuant to this article shall provide
separate single and two-party rates for at least the following
classes: for those under 65, for those over 65 who have Medicare A
and B, and for those over 65 who do not have Medicare A.
(c) The county superintendent of schools, school district, or
community college district shall annually select a one-month period
during which persons described by subdivision (a) may elect to enroll
in, respectively, the health and welfare benefit plan or the dental
care benefit plan or change their enrollment from one to another
health and welfare plan or dental care benefit plan, respectively.
(d) A certificated school employee who retired on or before August
24, 1986, the effective date of Chapter 561 of the Statutes of 1986,
or the surviving spouse of a certificated employee retired as of
August 25, 1986, shall be permitted to enroll in any district health
and dental care plan during the 1986, 1987, and 1988 enrollment
periods.
(e) A certificated school employee who retires after August 24,
1986, the effective date of Chapter 561 of the Statutes of 1986, or
the surviving spouse of a certificated employee retired as of August
25, 1986, shall be allowed to enroll in the coverage provided by this
article within 30 days of losing active employee coverage, but if
the retiree does not enroll in a district health or dental care plan
during this initial enrollment period, the retiree may be denied
further opportunity to do so.
The enrollment period for retirees under this subdivision shall
correspond to that provided to active employees, unless a district
chooses to offer an additional enrollment period.
(f) This article shall permit enrollment into any district health
and dental care plan only once. A retiree or spouse or surviving
spouse of a certificated employee who has been previously covered
under this article and who has voluntarily terminated that coverage,
thereafter may be excluded from obtaining coverage under this
article. This subdivision does not apply to a person who is changing
plans within a district during an open enrollment period.
(g) Retirees or surviving spouses of certificated employees may be
enrolled in a medical care plan pursuant to this section during
periods other than those specified therein if they lose their
coverage. With documentation of prior coverage, they may be allowed
to enroll in a medical care plan, if they do so within 31 days of
losing their other coverage.
(h) Any person described by subdivision (a) who elects, pursuant
to this article, to be covered by, respectively, a health and welfare
benefit plan or dental care benefit plan, may be required to pay all
premiums, dues, and other charges, including any increases in the
rate of premiums or dues for these persons, and all costs incurred by
the district or county superintendent of schools in administering
this article.