To amend sections 124.82 and 305.171 of the Revised Code to allow counties to participate in a state employee health insurance plan sponsored by the Department of Administrative Services.

Section 1. That sections 124.82 and 305.171 of the Revised Code be amended to read as follows:

Sec. 124.82.  (A) Except as provided in division (D) of this section, the department of administrative services, in consultation with the superintendent of insurance, shall, in accordance with competitive selection procedures of Chapter 125. of the Revised Code, contract with an insurance company or a health plan in combination with an insurance company, authorized to do business in this state, for the issuance of a policy or contract of health, medical, hospital, dental, or surgical benefits, or any combination of those benefits, covering state employees who are paid directly by warrant of the director of budget and management, including elected state officials, and county officers and employees that participate in the policy or contract under section 305.171 of the Revised Code. The department may fulfill its obligation under this division by exercising its authority under division (A)(2) of section 124.81 of the Revised Code.

(B) The department may, in addition, in consultation with the superintendent of insurance, negotiate and contract with health insuring corporations holding a certificate of authority under Chapter 1751. of the Revised Code, in their approved service areas only, for issuance of a contract or contracts of health care services, covering state employees who are paid directly by warrant of the director of budget and management, including elected state officials, and county officers and employees that participate in the policy or contract under section 305.171 of the Revised Code. The department may enter into contracts with one or more insurance carriers or health plans to provide the same plan of benefits, provided that:

(1) The amount of the premium or cost for such coverage contributed by the state, for an individual or for an individual and the individual's family, does not exceed that same amount of the premium or cost contributed by the state under division (A) of this section;

(2) The employee be permitted to exercise the option as to which plan the employee will select under division (A) or (B) of this section, at a time that shall be determined by the department;

(3) The health insuring corporations do not refuse to accept the employee, or the employee and the employee's family, if the employee exercises the option to select care provided by the corporations;

(4) The employee may choose participation in only one of the plans sponsored by the department;

(5) The director of health examines and certifies to the department that the quality and adequacy of care rendered by the health insuring corporations meet at least the standards of care provided by hospitals and physicians in that employee's community, who would be providing such care as would be covered by a contract awarded under division (A) of this section.

(C) All or any portion of the cost, premium, or charge for the coverage in divisions (A) and (B) of this section may be paid in such manner or combination of manners as the department determines and may include the proration of health care costs, premiums, or charges for part-time employees.

(D) Notwithstanding division (A) of this section, the department may provide benefits equivalent to those that may be paid under a policy or contract issued by an insurance company or a health plan pursuant to division (A) of this section.

(E) This section does not prohibit the state office of collective bargaining from entering into an agreement with an employee representative for the purposes of providing fringe benefits, including, but not limited to, hospitalization, surgical care, major medical care, disability, dental care, vision care, medical care, hearing aids, prescription drugs, group life insurance, sickness and accident insurance, group legal services or other benefits, or any combination of those benefits, to employees paid directly by warrant of the director of budget and management through a jointly administered trust fund. The employer's contribution for the cost of the benefit care shall be mutually agreed to in the collectively bargained agreement. The amount, type, and structure of fringe benefits provided under this division is subject to the determination of the board of trustees of the jointly administered trust fund. Notwithstanding any other provision of the Revised Code, competitive bidding does not apply to the purchase of fringe benefits for employees under this division when those benefits are provided through a jointly administered trust fund.

(F) Members of state boards or commissions may be covered by any policy, contract, or plan of benefits or services described in division (A) or (B) of this section. Board or commission members who are appointed for a fixed term and who are compensated on a per meeting basis, or paid only for expenses, or receive a combination of per diem payments and expenses shall pay the entire amount of the premiums, costs, or charges for that coverage.

(G) The director of administrative services shall adopt by rule procedures for county officers and employees' participation in the state policy or contract selected by the department pursuant to this section, including method of application, payment of benefits, and transfer of money.

Sec. 305.171.  (A) The board of county commissioners of any county may contract for, purchase, or otherwise procure and pay all or any part of the cost of group insurance policies that may provide benefits including, but not limited to, hospitalization, surgical care, major medical care, disability, dental care, eye care, medical care, hearing aids, or prescription drugs, and that may provide sickness and accident insurance, group legal services, or group life insurance, or a combination of any of the foregoing types of insurance or coverage, for county officers and employees and their immediate dependents from the funds or budgets from which the county officers or employees are compensated for services, issued by an insurance company.

(B) The board of county commissioners also may negotiate and contract for any plan or plans of health care services with health insuring corporations holding a certificate of authority under Chapter 1751. of the Revised Code, provided that each county officer or employee shall be permitted to do both of the following:

(1) Exercise an option between a plan offered by an insurance company and a plan or plans offered by health insuring corporations under this division, on the condition that the county officer or employee shall pay any amount by which the cost of the plan chosen by the county officer or employee pursuant to this division exceeds the cost of the plan offered under division (A) of this section;

(2) Change from one of the plans to another at a time each year as determined by the board.

(C) Section 307.86 of the Revised Code does not apply to the purchase of benefits for county officers or employees under divisions (A) and (B) of this section when those benefits are provided through a jointly administered health and welfare trust fund in which the county or contracting authority and a collective bargaining representative of the county employees or contracting authority agree to participate.

(D) The board of trustees of a jointly administered trust fund that receives contributions pursuant to collective bargaining agreements entered into between the board of county commissioners of any county and a collective bargaining representative of the employees of the county may provide for self-insurance of all risk in the provision of fringe benefits, and may provide through the self-insurance method specific fringe benefits as authorized by the rules of the board of trustees of the jointly administered trust fund. The fringe benefits may include, but are not limited to, hospitalization, surgical care, major medical care, disability, dental care, vision care, medical care, hearing aids, prescription drugs, group life insurance, sickness and accident insurance, group legal services, or a combination of any of the foregoing types of insurance or coverage, for county employees and their dependents.

(E) The board of county commissioners may provide the benefits described in divisions (A) to (D) of this section through an individual self-insurance program or a joint self-insurance program as provided in section 9.833 of the Revised Code or through a plan sponsored by the department of administrative services under section 124.82 of the Revised Code.

(F) When a board of county commissioners offers health benefits authorized under this section to a county officer or employee, the board may offer the benefits through a cafeteria plan meeting the requirements of section 125 of the "Internal Revenue Code of 1986," 100 Stat. 2085, 26 U.S.C.A. 125, as amended, and, as part of that plan, may offer the county officer or employee the option of receiving a cash payment in any form permissible under such cafeteria plans. A cash payment made to a county officer or employee under this division shall not exceed twenty-five per cent of the cost of premiums or payments that otherwise would be paid by the board for benefits for the county officer or employee under a policy or plan.

(G) The board of county commissioners may establish a policy authorizing any county appointing authority to make a cash payment to any county officer or employee in lieu of providing a benefit authorized under this section if the county officer or employee elects to take the cash payment instead of the offered benefit. A cash payment made to a county officer or employee under this division shall not exceed twenty-five per cent of the cost of premiums or payments that otherwise would be paid by the board for benefits for the county officer or employee under an offered policy or plan.

(H) No cash payment in lieu of a health benefit shall be made to a county officer or employee under division (F) or (G) of this section unless the county officer or employee signs a statement affirming that the county officer or employee is covered under another health insurance or health care policy, contract, or plan, and setting forth the name of the employer, if any, that sponsors the coverage, the name of the carrier that provides the coverage, and the identifying number of the policy, contract, or plan.

(I) The legislative authority of a county-operated municipal court, after consultation with the judges, or the clerk and deputy clerks, of the municipal court, shall negotiate and contract for, purchase, or otherwise procure, and pay the costs, premiums, or charges for, group health care coverage for the judges, and group health care coverage for the clerk and deputy clerks, in accordance with section 1901.111 or 1901.312 of the Revised Code.

(J) As used in this section:

(1) "County officer or employee" includes, but is not limited to, a member or employee of the county board of elections.

(2) "County-operated municipal court" and "legislative authority" have the same meanings as in section 1901.03 of the Revised Code.

(3) "Health care coverage" has the same meaning as in section 1901.111 of the Revised Code.

Section 2. That existing sections 124.82 and 305.171 of the Revised Code are hereby repealed.