SB 376 — STATE EMPLOYEE HEALTH BENEFIT CONTRIBUTIONS

SENATEAN BILLACT 376RELATING 57THTO LEGISLATURESTATE -EMPLOYEE STATEOFNEWMEXICO-BENEFITS; FIRST SESSION, 2025 INTRODUCED BY Elizabeth "Liz" Stefanics and George K.

MuñozAMENDING ThisTHE documentCONTRIBUTION mayPERCENTAGES incorporateFOR amendmentsSTATE proposedEMPLOYEE byHEALTH aBENEFITS; committee, but not yet adopted, as well as amendments that have been adopted during the current legislative session.

TheAUTHORIZING documentTHE isSECRETARY aOF toolHEALTH toCARE showAUTHORITY amendmentsTO inUSE contextFUNDS andAPPROPRIATED cannotFROM beTHE usedHEALTH forCARE theAFFORDABILITY purposeFUND ofTO addingREDUCE amendmentsOR toELIMINATE legislation.PREMIUMS FOR CERTAIN GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES.

h9 gBE oIT ANENACTED ACTBY tTHE hrLEGISLATURE gOF eTHE i k RELATING TO STATE EMPLOYEEOF BENEFITS;NEW MEXICO:

AMENDINGSECTION THE1. CONTRIBUTION h r i s PERCENTAGES FOR STATE EMPLOYEE HEALTH BENEFITS;

AUTHORIZING THE h , t, SECRETARY OF HEALTH CARE AUTHORITY TO USE FUNDS APPROPRIATED e u g e b l e e h FROM THE HEALTH CARE AFFORDABILITY FUND TO REDUCE OR ELIMINATE n d d i = = o h PREMIUMS FOR CERTAIN GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES.

l ] b ,d i a º e r i = r t e w d m a n o BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:

d m :

b e d s º o t n = .229406.3AIC March 5, 2025 (1:37pm) s k m e e a n e d r e l u [ A d SECTION 1.

All state departments and institutions and all political subdivisions of the state, excluding municipalities, counties and political subdivisions of the state with twenty-twenty-five five employees or fewer, shall cooperate in providing group term life, medical or disability income insurance for the benefit of eligible employees or salaried officers of the respective departments, institutions and political subdivisions.

(1) at least seventy-five percent of the SFC/SB 376 Page 1 cost of the insurance of an employee whose annual salary is less h g than fifteen thousand dollars ($15,000);

o t hr (2) at least seventy percent of the cost of g e i k the insurance of an employee whose annual salary is fifteen h r i s thousand dollars ($15,000) or more but less than twenty h , t, e u g thousand dollars ($20,000);

e b l e e h (3) at least sixty-five percent of the cost of n d d i = = o h the insurance of an employee whose annual salary is twenty l ] b ,d i a º e r i = r thousand dollars ($20,000) or more but less than twenty-five t e w d m a n o thousand dollars ($25,000);

and d(4) mat :least sixty percent of the cost of the insurance of an employee whose annual salary is twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000) or more.

b e d s º o t n = .229406.3AIC March 5, 2025 (1:37pm) s k m e - 2 - e a n e d r e l u [ A d (4) at least sixty percent of the cost of the insurance of an employee whose annual salary is twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000) or more.

SFC/SB 376 Page 2 D.

Effective July 1, 2004, the group insurance contributions of the state or any of its executive, judicial or h g legislative departments, including agencies, boards or o t hr commissions, shall be made as follows;

provided that the g e i k contribution percentage shall be the same for all affected h r i s public employees in a given salary bracket:

h , t, e u g (1) up to eighty percent of the cost of the e b l e e h insurance of an employee whose annual salary is less than n d d i = = o h thirty thousand dollars ($30,000);

l ] b ,d i a º e r i = r (2) up to seventy percent of the cost of the t e w d m a n o insurance of an employee whose annual salary is thirty thousand ddollars m($30,000) :or more but less than forty thousand dollars ($40,000);

b e d s º o t n = .229406.3AIC March 5, 2025 (1:37pm) s k m e - 3 - e a n e d r e l u [ A d dollars ($30,000) or more but less than forty thousand dollars ($40,000);

Except as provided in Subsection H of this section, effective July 1, [2005 ] 2025, the group insurance contributions of the state or any of its executive, judicial or legislative departments, including agencies, boards or commissions, shall be [madeeighty aspercent follows;of the cost of insurance.

providedF. that the contribution percentage shall be the same for all affected public employees in a given salary bracket;

(1)Effective upJuly to1, eighty2013, percentthe ofemployer theshall costpay one hundred percent of thebasic life insurance ofpremiums anfor employeeemployees, whoseand annualemployees salarywho ischoose lessto thancarry fiftydisability thousandSFC/SB dollars376 ($50,000);Page 3 insurance shall pay one hundred percent of the premium.

(2) up to seventy percent of the cost of the insurance of an employee whose annual salary is fifty thousand h g dollars ($50,000) or more but less than sixty thousand dollars o t hr ($60,000);

and g e i k (3) up to sixty percent of the cost of the h r i s insurance of an employee whose annual salary is sixty thousand h , t, e u g dollars ($60,000) or more] eighty percent of the cost of e b l e e h insurance.

n d d i = = o h F.

Effective July 1, 2013, the employer shall pay l ] b ,d i a º e r i = r one hundred percent of basic life insurance premiums for t e w d m a n o employees, and employees who choose to carry disability d m :

b e d s º o t n = .229406.3AIC March 5, 2025 (1:37pm) s k m e - 4 - e a n e d r e l u [ A d insurance shall pay one hundred percent of the premium.

The state shall SFCºnot»SFCnot make SFCºany»SFCany group insurance contributions for legislatorslegislators. SFCº who make less than one hundred fifty thousand dollars ($150,000) per year in an amount equal to eighty percent of the cost of insurance»SFC .

A legislator SFCº who makes more than one hundred fifty thousand dollars ($150,000) per year»SFC shall be eligible for group benefits only if the legislator contributes one hundred percent of the cost of the insurance.

Any contributions of the political subdivisions of the state, h g except the public schools and political subdivisions of the o t hr state with twenty-five employees or fewer, shall not exceed g e i k sixty percent of the cost of the insurance.

h r i s h J.

When a public employee elects to participate in , t, e u g a cafeteria plan as authorized by the Cafeteria Plan Act and e b l e e h enters into a salary reduction agreement with the governmental n d d i = = o h l ] b ,d employer, the provisions of Subsections B through G of this i a º e r i = r section with respect to the maximum contributions that can be t e w d m a n o made by the employer are not violated and will still apply.

dThe memployer :percentage or SFC/SB 376 Page 4 dollar contributions as provided in Subsections B through E of this section shall be determined by the employee's gross salary prior to any salary reduction agreement.

b e d s º o t n = .229406.3AIC March 5, 2025 (1:37pm) s k m e - 5 - e a n e d r e l u [ A d The employer percentage or dollar contributions as provided in Subsections B through E of this section shall be determined by the employee's gross salary prior to any salary reduction agreement.

Any group medical insurance plan offered pursuant to this section shall include effective cost-cost-containment containment measures to control the growth of health care costs.costs and maximize benefits for the least cost.

The responsible public body that h administers a plan offered pursuant to this section shall u » r t h report annually by September 1 to appropriate interim g e l i legislative committees on the effectiveness of the cost-cost-containment h r i s containment measures required by this subsection.

h , e h t u g L.

Within available revenue, school districts, e b l e e , gh charter schools and participating entities pursuant to the n d d i = = o h Public School Insurance Authority Act may contribute up to one l ] b ,d i a º r hundred percent of the cost of the insurance of all employeesSFC/SB e376 rPage =5 temployees e w d m a n o and institutions of higher education may contribute up to deighty mpercent :of the cost of the insurance of all employees.