A. The cost of the group insurance shall be paid by the sheriff out of the Sheriff's Salary Fund, except that the cost of the insurance for the criminal sheriff for the parish of Orleans and his deputies and the civil sheriff for the parish of Orleans and his deputies shall be paid from the fund or funds provided or appropriated for payment of the salaries of said civil and criminal sheriffs and their respective deputies.
B. The sheriff in each parish of the state may pay from the Sheriff's Salary Fund, or its successor, all or part of the premium cost for group hospital, surgical, and medical expense insurance covering the dependents of sheriffs and deputies under the policies authorized by R.S. 13:5554.