(

a) The board of supervisors of any county by ordinance, or the governing body of any district under the County Employees Retirement Law, by ordinance or resolution, may provide for the contribution by the county or district from its funds and not from the retirement fund, toward the payment of all or a portion of the premiums on a policy or certificate of life insurance or disability insurance issued by an admitted insurer, or toward the payment of all or part of the consideration for any hospital service or medical service corporation, including any corporation lawfully operating under

Section of the Corporations Code, contract, or for any combination thereof, for the benefit of any member heretofore or hereafter retired or his or her dependents. At least one of these plans shall include free choice of physician and surgeon. (

b) The benefits provided by this

section are in addition to any other benefits provided by this chapter. (

c) The board of retirement may provide on behalf of a member who has retired, or an eligible surviving spouse who was married to the member for one year prior to the date of retirement of the member, or, if there is no such spouse, the surviving unmarried children of the member who are under years of age, or under years of age and full-time students, for the hospital and medical benefits enumerated in subdivision (

a) from the earnings of the retirement fund that are in excess of the total interest credited to contributions and reserves plus percent of the total assets of the retirement fund. The board may provide for the benefits enumerated from like sources when the board of supervisors or the governing body of a district has elected to provide these benefits to its active employees, even though the benefits are not provided to those who have retired from the service of the county or district. Hospital and medical benefits provided under this

section shall be provided in compliance with

Section 401(

h) of Title of the United States Code. They may also be provided in compliance with

Section 31592.2. (

d) Except in a county of the first class, upon adoption by any county providing benefits pursuant to this section, that has adopted

Article 5.5 (commencing with

Section 31610), the Supplemental Retiree Benefits Reserve established pursuant to

Section shall be substituted for the excess earnings described in subdivision (c).