New Mexico § 10-7-4 - Group insurance; cafeteria plan; contributions from public funds

§ 10-7-4. Group insurance; cafeteria plan; contributions from public funds

A. All state departments and institutions and all political subdivisions of the state,

excluding municipalities, counties and political subdivisions of the state with twenty-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. B. The group insurance contributions of the state or any of its departments or institutions,

including institutions of higher education, shall be made as follows: (1) at least seventy-five percent of the cost of the insurance of an employee whose

annual salary is less than fifteen thousand dollars ($15,000); (2) at least seventy percent of the cost of the insurance of an employee whose annual

salary is fifteen thousand dollars ($15,000) or more but less than twenty thousand

dollars ($20,000); (3) at least sixty-five percent of the cost of the insurance of an employee whose

annual salary is twenty thousand dollars ($20,000) or more but less than twenty-five

thousand dollars ($25,000); and (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. C. The group insurance contributions of school districts and charter schools shall

be made as follows: (1) at least eighty percent of the cost of the insurance of an employee whose annual

salary is less than fifty thousand dollars ($50,000); (2) at least seventy percent of the cost of the insurance of an employee whose annual

salary is fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) or more but less than sixty thousand dollars

($60,000); and (3) at least sixty percent of the cost of the insurance of an employee whose annual

salary is sixty thousand dollars ($60,000) or more. D. Effective July 1, 2004, the group insurance contributions of the state or any of

its executive, judicial or legislative departments, including agencies, boards or

commissions, shall be made as follows; provided that the contribution percentage

shall be the same for all affected public employees in a given salary bracket: (1) up to eighty percent of the cost of the insurance of an employee whose annual

salary is less than thirty thousand dollars ($30,000); (2) up to seventy percent of the cost of the insurance of an employee whose annual

salary is thirty thousand dollars ($30,000) or more but less than forty thousand dollars

($40,000); and (3) up to sixty percent of the cost of the insurance of an employee whose annual salary

is forty thousand dollars ($40,000) or more. E. Except as provided in Subsection H of this section, effective July 1, 2005, the

group insurance contributions of the state or any of its executive, judicial or legislative

departments, including agencies, boards or commissions, shall be made as follows;

provided that the contribution percentage shall be the same for all affected public

employees in a given salary bracket: (1) up to eighty percent of the cost of the insurance of an employee whose annual

salary is less than fifty thousand dollars ($50,000); (2) up to seventy percent of the cost of the insurance of an employee whose annual

salary is fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) or more but less than sixty thousand dollars

($60,000); and (3) up to sixty percent of the cost of the insurance of an employee whose annual salary

is sixty thousand dollars ($60,000) or more. F. Effective July 1, 2013, the employer shall pay one hundred percent of basic life

insurance premiums for employees, and employees who choose to carry disability insurance

shall pay one hundred percent of the premium. G. The state shall not make any group insurance contributions for legislators. A legislator shall be eligible for group benefits only if the legislator contributes

one hundred percent of the cost of the insurance. H. An employer shall pay one hundred percent of the employee group insurance contributions

due and payable on or after July 1, 2016 for an employee who is injured while performing

a public safety function or duty and, as a result of the injury, is placed on approved

workers' compensation leave. I. As used in this section, “ cost of the insurance ” means the premium required to be paid to provide coverages. Any contributions of the political subdivisions of the state, except the public

schools and political subdivisions of the state with twenty-five employees or fewer,

shall not exceed sixty percent of the cost of the insurance. J. When a public employee elects to participate in a cafeteria plan as authorized

by the Cafeteria Plan Act and enters into a salary reduction agreement with the governmental

employer, the provisions of Subsections B through G of this section with respect to

the maximum contributions that can be made by the employer are not violated and will

still apply. 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. K. Any group medical insurance plan offered pursuant to this section shall include

effective cost-containment measures to control the growth of health care costs. The responsible public body that administers a plan offered pursuant to this section

shall report annually by September 1 to appropriate interim legislative committees

on the effectiveness of the cost-containment measures required by this subsection. L. Within available revenue, school districts, charter schools and participating entities

pursuant to the Public School Insurance Authority Act 1 may contribute up to one hundred percent of the cost of the insurance of all employees

and institutions of higher education may contribute up to eighty percent of the cost

of the insurance of all employees. 1

NMSA 1978, § 22-29-1 et seq.