The board of trustees for the county health center may either through purchase of plans or through plans of self-insurance provide for suitable retirement, health, life insurance, and employment insurance plans for all administrators and employees of the county health center as a part of their compensation, and the employer’s cost of such plans shall be paid by the treasurer of the board of county health trustees in the same manner as other expenses of the county health center are paid, except that the board of trustees for the county health center shall be taken and considered as a “political subdivision” as the term is defined in section 70.600 for the purposes of sections 70.600 to 70.755.