Okla. Stat. tit. 11, § 11-23-108

municipal employees and retirees.

A. A municipality may provide hospital and medical benefits,

accident, health, and life insurance, or any of the aforesaid,

through any company authorized to do business in Oklahoma, for any

or all of its officers or employees and their dependents, whether

the officers or employees are engaged in a governmental or

nongovernmental function of the municipality. A municipality may

also provide such benefits when an officer or employee is ordered by

proper authority to active duty in the National Guard or Reserve

Corps of the Armed Forces of the United States. The municipality

may pay a portion or all of the premiums from any municipal general

funds, and may deduct from the wages or salary of any such officer

or employee, upon written authority signed by the officer or

employee, amounts for the payment of all or any portion of the

monthly premium for same.

B. 1. For the purposes of and as used in this subsection:

a. "affected municipality" means a municipality that

provides hospital and medical benefits, accident and

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health insurance, or any of the aforesaid, for any or

all of its officers or employees and their dependents

pursuant to the provisions of subsection A of this

section,

b. "health insurance plan" means the hospital and medical

benefits, accident and health insurance, or any of the

aforesaid, provided by an affected municipality to its

officers or employees pursuant to the provisions of

subsection A of this section,

c. "retired employee" means any officer or employee of an

affected municipality who receives a continuing

benefit pursuant to the provisions of the Oklahoma

Public Employees Retirement System, a municipal

retirement system authorized pursuant to the

provisions of Section 48-101 et seq. of this title,

the Oklahoma Firefighters Pension and Retirement

System, or the Oklahoma Police Pension and Retirement

System, and who began receiving the benefits

immediately after termination of employment, taking

into consideration any administrative delays in

establishing said continuing benefits, with an

affected municipality, provided that the phrase

"retired employee" shall include elected officers that

have served eight (8) or more years with an affected

municipality and the survivor of the elected officer

or officer or employee, and

d. "survivor" means a survivor of a retired employee who

would have been eligible to make the election

authorized by this subsection and shall be determined

in accordance with the applicable rules of the

retirement system from which said retired employee

qualified to receive benefits. Provided, "survivor"

shall also mean the surviving spouse or the surviving

minor child or children of a person who was an

employee or elected official of an affected

municipality on or after July 1, 1992, and who

continuously participated in the hospital and medical

benefits insurance plan of the affected municipality

at the time of the death of the employee.

2. Notwithstanding any other state or federal law, a retired

employee may continue to elect coverage under any health insurance

plan offered by the affected municipality that last employed the

retired employee, including any health plans targeted for retirees

and Medicare eligible retirees.

3. To participate in the health insurance plan offered by a

retired employee's affected municipality, the retired employee shall

elect to participate in the health insurance plan within thirty (30)

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days from the date of termination of employment with the affected

municipality.

4. The retired employee who participates in the health

insurance plan pursuant to this subsection shall pay up to the full

cost of the health insurance plan at the rates and pursuant to the

terms and conditions established by the affected
within thirty (30)

Oklahoma Statutes - Title 11. Cities and Towns Page 210

days from the date of termination of employment with the affected

municipality.

4. The retired employee who participates in the health

insurance plan pursuant to this subsection shall pay up to the full

cost of the health insurance plan at the rates and pursuant to the

terms and conditions established by the affected

municipality,provided the amount of the retired employee's premiums

and dependent premiums for said health insurance plan paid by said

retired employee who is under sixty-five (65) years of age shall be

no greater than one hundred twenty-five percent (125%) of the amount

of the officer or employee premiums and dependent premiums for the

health insurance plan paid by or on behalf of an officer or employee

who is currently employed by the affected municipality.

5. An affected municipality that offers a health insurance plan

in accordance with this section to its officers or employees and

dependents shall offer a health insurance plan to those retired

employees and their dependents who elect to participate in the

health insurance plan in accordance with this subsection unless the

retired employee or dependent is sixty-five (65) years of age or

older and/or qualifies for Medicare.

6. An affected municipality that provides a health insurance

plan to retired employees pursuant to this subsection may offer one

or more, or a combination of one or more of the following health

care options or plans in supplement or as an alternate to

traditional Medicare coverage: a coordination of benefits plan, a

Medicare supplement (Medigap) plan, a Medicare Advantage plan (with

or without an optional Medicare Part D prescription drug plan), a

Medicare Part D prescription drug plan, or other similar health care

options or plans approved by the federal government's Centers for

Medicare and Medicaid Services, to those retired employees and their

dependents who are sixty-five (65) years of age or older and/or

qualify for Medicare.

7. An affected municipality which participates in the plan or

plans offered by the State and Education Employees Group Insurance

Board shall not be subject to the provisions of this subsection so

long as the participation continues.

8. If a retired employee who retires from an affected

municipality that participates in a municipal retirement system

authorized pursuant to the provisions of Section 48-101 et seq. of

this title does not receive a continuing benefit from the municipal

retirement system because of a lump sum distribution from the

retirement system to the retired employee or because the municipal

retirement system is discontinued, the retired employee shall be

entitled to make the election authorized pursuant to this subsection

if the retired employee was employed by the affected municipality

for at least eight (8) years or was disabled due to a line-of-duty

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injury while employed by and unable to continue similar employment

with the affected municipality.

C. Public and private educational institutions of the state not

supported by any state appropriated funds may purchase annuity

contracts for any of their full-time officers and employees from any

insurance company organized and operated without profit to any

private shareholder or individual exclusively for the purpose of

aiding and strengthening educational institutions, whether or not

such company be authorized to do business in Oklahoma.