(a) Subject to the approval of the state insurance committee as created in § 8-27-201 and the local government insurance committee, retired county judges, county officials, and employees of employers participating in the Tennessee consolidated retirement system pursuant to chapter 35, part 2 of this title may participate in the supplemental medical insurance program established in § 8-27-209; provided, that retired employees are covered by Medicare benefits and are drawing a monthly retirement allowance from the Tennessee consolidated retirement system. The state shall not assume any cost nor provide any funding toward the payment of premiums.
Terms Used In Tennessee Code 8-27-706
Employer: means : (A) The state or any department, commission, institution, board or agency of the state government by which a member is paid, with respect to members in its employ. See Tennessee Code 8-34-101
Person: includes a corporation, firm, company or association. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
Retirement: means withdrawal from membership with a retirement allowance granted under chapters 34-37 of this title. See Tennessee Code 8-34-101
Retirement allowance: means the sum of the member annuity and the state annuity. See Tennessee Code 8-34-101
Retirement system: means the Tennessee consolidated retirement system as defined in §. See Tennessee Code 8-34-101
Service: means service as a general employee, a teacher, a state police officer, a wildlife officer, a firefighter, a police officer, a state judge, a county judge, an attorney general, a commissioner or a county official which is paid for by an employer, and also includes service for which a former member of the general assembly is entitled to under former §. See Tennessee Code 8-34-101
(b) Except as provided in subsection (c), retired employees electing to participate in the program shall pay the total cost of such coverage.(c) The chief governing body of any employer of an employee described in subsection (a) may pass a resolution to make contributions toward the expense of such coverages; provided, that the amount, terms, and conditions of contributions shall be, at all times, the same as that established by the state insurance committee pursuant to § 8-27-209(d). Years of service, as used in § 8-27-209(d) for determining the employer’s contribution level, means only those years of service rendered by the retired employee to the employer and upon which the retired employee’s monthly retirement allowance is based. The resolution to make contributions on behalf of retired employees shall remain in effect until revoked by the chief governing body.(d) The budget of any such employer electing to make contributions shall include an amount sufficient to pay contributions on behalf of its retired employees covered by the supplemental insurance program. The contributions shall be paid to the insurer by the employer in a manner directed by the state insurance committee.(e) The supplemental medical insurance authorized under this section shall not be available to any person otherwise qualified under subsection (a) whose initial employment with a qualifying employer commenced on or after July 1, 2015.
