AGO Opinion Topics: EMPLOYEE ORGANIZATION CONSIDERATION

(1) An agency cannot enter into a single contract for a hospitalization and medical aid plan that is not available to all its employees or all employees within constitutionally permissible categories because of the inability of the carrier to service all the employees of the agency where the agency executes only one contract.  However, an agency may contract for a hospitalization and medical aid plan which is not available to all of its employees or all employees within constitutionally permissible categories because of the inability geographically of the carrier to service all of the employees of the state agency, if the agency provides substantially equivalent hospitalization and medical aid contracts to all its employees or all employees within a certain category under another contract or contracts. (2) Same: An agency cannot enter into only one hospitalization and medical aid contract that is available to its employees or categories of employees only if the employees belong to a specific employee organization.  However, an agency may contract for a hospitalization and medical aid plan which is available to its employees or categories of employees but conditioned upon membership in a specific employee organization, if the agency at the same time provides substantially equivalent hospitalization and medical aid contracts to all its employees or all employees within a certain category under another contract or contracts.