The Board of Education realizes the concern of its employees for the availability of those protective and personally advantageous benefits beyond an individual's basic salary. It is the Board's desire to make available or provide, within the limits of the law and sound fiscal management those which are beneficial to the employee and the District.

The Board shall provide group health insurance for the employees of this District eligible to participate in accordance with Statute. The limitations of this participation shall be determined by the negotiated agreement between the Board and the classified employees.

Under the following circumstances, an employee's dependents, or a former employee and his/her dependents, or dependent survivors of a former employee may at their expense be eligible to participate in Southern Local School District's group health insurance program as provided for its employees.

This coverage option will apply for an eighteen (18) month period of time for a terminated employee and their dependents who would lose health insurance coverage because of reduction in hours worked, voluntary termination, lay-off for economic reasons and/or discharge for misconduct (other than gross misconduct). Gross misconduct is any act/acts committed willfully or unwillfully that are legally unjustified, positively wrongful and/or contrary to law.

And, this coverage option will apply for a thirty-six (36) month period of time for dependents who would lose their coverage because of age, death of the covered employee, legal separation, divorce, and/or Medicare ineligible spouse and children of a current employee.

Persons eligible for continued coverage of the Southern Local School District's group health insurance program will have sixty (60) days from the date that coverage will end or from the date of notification of the continued group health insurance coverage option, whichever is later, to contact the Treasurer of the Southern Local Board of Education to request such coverage.

A fee of two (2) percent of the monthly premium will be charged each participant under this policy for processing.

Eligible persons must participate in all the health plans purchased by the Southern Local Board of Education for its employees.

This coverage option will end if the Southern Local Board of Education terminates all health plans to its employees, an individual/individuals become covered by another health plan or attains Medicare eligibility and/or do not pay the premium and processing fee by the due date.

R.C. 9.90, 3313.202