§ 173. Contract for long term care insurance. 1. The president is
hereby authorized and directed to purchase a contract or contracts to
provide long term care benefits under the long term care insurance plan
established in accordance with the provisions of this article. Such long
term care contract or contracts shall be purchased from one or more
corporations authorized under section one thousand one hundred seventeen
of the insurance law to issue long term care insurance contracts in this
state.

2. A reasonable time before entering into any long term care insurance
contract or contracts hereunder, the president shall invite proposals
from such qualified insurers as in his or her opinion would desire to
accept any part of the long term care insurance coverage authorized by
this article.

3. The president may designate one or more of such corporations as
insurers from which employees may select to provide long term care
insurance.

4. Each employee who is covered under any such long term care
insurance contract or contracts shall receive a certificate setting
forth the benefits to which the employee and his or her dependents are
entitled thereunder, to whom such benefits shall be payable, to whom
claims should be submitted, and summarizing the provisions of the
contract principally affecting the employee and his or her dependents.

5. The president may, at the end of any fiscal year, discontinue any
long term care insurance contract or contracts he or she has purchased
from any corporation or corporations; provided, however, nothing in this
article nor in any regulations promulgated hereunder shall affect or
impair any employees' continuation of coverage or conversion rights with
respect to long term care insurance as defined in the regulations of the
New York state department of financial services.