The Empire Plan is a unique health insurance plan designed especially for public employees in New York State. Empire Plan benefits include inpatient and outpatient hospital coverage, medical/surgical coverage, Centers of Excellence for transplants, infertility and cancer, home care services, equipment and supplies, mental health and substance abuse coverage and prescription drug coverage.
GOVERNOR
DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL SERVICE
ALBANY, NEW YORK 12239
www.cs.ny.gov
COMMISSIONER
PA07-14
TO: Agency Health Benefits Administrators of Participating Agencies
FROM: Employee Benefits Division
SUBJECT: Mandated Materials Packages
DATE: August 24, 2007
We are pleased to inform you that the Department of Civil Service has recently begun a new monthly mailing to deliver customized packages of mandatory materials such as privacy and COBRA notices to the homes of new hires, new retirees and enrollees who change options. Please see the complete list of package contents below for details. This new service removes this responsibility from HBAs and also ensures that required materials are provided when legally necessary. Therefore, you are no longer required to provide these materials to new hires, new retirees or enrollees who change to The Empire Plan.
The first mailing was sent on August 8, 2007 to new hires, retirees and option changers who were on the NYBEAS file at the end of June or July. Monthly mailings will now flow, with files being pulled from NYBEAS on the last Thursday of the month.
Although some of these notices have been available as a publication or online, we are now providing them in one envelope that the enrollee should save with their other health insurance materials. Note that our regular NYSHIP publications are NOT included in these packages and that they will continue to be mailed directly to enrollee homes as has been our practice.
The following packages will be mailed to enrollee homes:
PA Empire Plan
Cover Letter
PA COBRA Notice
Empire Plan Disclosure Amendment
UnitedHealthcare Privacy Notice
Empire BlueCross/BlueShield Privacy Notice
GHI Privacy Notice
NYSHIP Privacy Notice
Thank you for your assistance with delivering these materials in the past. We hope this is helpful to you and to the new enrollee who will now have coordinated materials. If you have still have questions about the transition to this new way of delivering certain mandated materials, please call the Communications Unit at 518-457-7577.
Coming Soon:
We will be announcing “New Hire” NYSHIP publications packages – quick ordering of publications – soon – that should be a popular HBA option. We will also be announcing a new returned mail process, brought about by changing U.S. Post Office requirements. Future memos will explain these new services.