BILL NUMBER: S5678

SPONSOR: GOUNARDES
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in
relation to health insurance coverage for surviving spouses or domestic
partners of members of the New York city fire department

 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

To create parity in continuing healthcare coverage for the spouses and
domestic partners of New York City firefighters and those of other types
of uniformed professions such as correction and sanitation officers

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section one of the bill amends subparagraph (ii) of paragraph two of
subdivision b of section 12-126 of the New York City Administrative Code
to provide that the surviving spouse or domestic partner of both active
and retired firefighters are entitled to continuing healthcare coverage
after the death of the firefighter.
              

Section two of the bill sets the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

In 1985, Congress passed the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation
Act (COBRA) to give workers and their families temporary continuation of
healthcare benefits when the worker loses their job due to certain qual-
ifying events such as voluntary or involuntary job loss, reduction in
work hours, transition between jobs, death, divorce, or other events.
Qualified individuals are required to pay the entire premium for cover-
age up to 102% of the cost to the plan, with 2% intended to cover admin-
istrative costs. In New York City, surviving spouses and domestic part-
ners of municipal employees who have passed away must elect coverage
within one year of the employee's death for a maximum coverage period of
36 months.

In Ch. 436 of 2001, the New York City Administrative Code was amended to
permit surviving spouses or domestic partners of FDNY and NYPD members
to apply for COBRA coverage for life, regardless of the cause of death,
rather than just 36 months, but only if the member is retired on the
date of their death. The spouse or partner would need to pay the monthly
premium but at the city's group rate which is generally less than a
similar commercial plan on the marketplace. The legislature then
extended that same privilege to the families of New York City correction
and sanitation members with the passage of Ch. 430 of 2010. This time,
however, they decided to offer lifetime COBRA to both active and retired
correction and sanitation employees.

The above described chapters have led to a disparate situation in which
if a 40-year-old New York City corrections captain is killed in an off-
duty car accident, the Captain's family is eligible to pay the city's
COBRA premium for life. If a 40-year-old FDNY Captain is killed in an
off-duty car accident, however, that Captain's family is only eligible
to pay the city's COBRA premium for 36 months.


This bill aims to correct this inequity in healthcare benefits for the
surviving families of dedicated New York City public servants by ensuing
lifetime COBRA for the survivors of both active and retired FDNY
members, in line with the benefits afforded to corrections and sanita-
tion members.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

None

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

TBD

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Immediate