SAN JOSE  (AP) — Local governments in the San Francisco Bay area are paying tens of thousands of dollars each year on health insurance for former part-time politicians, many of whom haven't held office for decades.

The San Jose Mercury News reports that more than 200 former school board members, water district commissioners and other elected officials receive taxpayer-subsidized medical coverage they were promised for life in exchange for their service.

Eight of the officials getting the benefits first were elected during the 1960s.

In some instances, relatives of former officials are covered under the same policies. The newspaper found 19 dependents of deceased politicians have their health care paid for by the public.

In all, 65 Bay Area agencies spent more than $1.5 million last year on health care for former officials, according to the Mercury News.