Section 22879.

(a) The board shall pay monthly to an employee or annuitant who is enrolled in, or whose family member is enrolled in, a Medicare health benefit plan under this part the amount of the Medicare Part B premiums, exclusive of penalties, except as provided in Section 22831. This payment may not exceed the difference between the maximum employer contribution and the amount contributed by the employer toward the cost of premiums for the health benefit plan in which the employee or annuitant and his or her family members are enrolled. No payment may be made in any month if the difference is less than one dollar ($1).

(b) This section shall be applicable only to state employees, annuitants who retired while state employees, and the family members of those persons.

(c) With respect to an annuitant, the board shall pay to the annuitant the amount required by this section from the same source from which his or her allowance is paid. Those amounts are hereby appropriated monthly from the General Fund to reimburse the board for those payments.

(d) There is hereby appropriated from the appropriate funds the amounts required by this section to be paid to active state employees.

(Added by Stats. 2004, Ch. 69, Sec. 22. Effective June 24, 2004.)