Department of Civil Service

PA08-01

TO: Agency Health Benefit Administrators of Participating Agencies
FROM: EBD Communications
SUBJECT: Clean Sweep - clearing off those old publications!
DATE: March 10, 2008

We thank you for all you have done to keep your agency enrollees informed about their New York State Health Insurance Program (NYSHIP) Empire Plan benefits.

To help you organize your Empire Plan publications for 2008, we are sending you this guide to what you should have on your shelves, what you should discard as obsolete and how to order what you need for your NYSHIP Empire Plan enrollees.

In this memo:

• What you should have on your shelves for NYSHIP Empire Plan enrollees
• What should be off your shelves
• What the Department of Civil Service (DCS) automatically sends to new NYSHIP enrollees and retirees turning 65
• What United States Postal Service (USPS) changes you will see as we return mail to you.

What you should have on your shelves for NYSHIP Empire Plan enrollees

Let the Publications Supply Request form for Participating Agencies be your guide. Be sure to use the correct form. There are two forms for Participating Agencies - Core Only and Core Plus. We update these forms each time a new publication is printed. We send the new publication and an updated order form in each carton of new materials. If you do not know which form applies to your agency, please call the EBD PA Unit, 518-474-2780.

You can see brand new publications and get a current Publications Supply Request form online. As soon as a publication is approved to print, we post it online at HBA Online. Follow the Human Resource professional’s path from www.cs.state.ny.us. When something new is printed, we rush you a small supply and enclose an order form.

Because publications are available online so early, we ask that you please not send in orders for new publications until you receive your agency supply. It takes time to get the publication from the press floor to the fulfillment shelves.

If you don’t know how to use HBA Online, please call the NYS Department of Civil Service’s Help Desk at 1-800-HBA-EMS-1. It can change your work life! HBA Online is a convenient resource with information you need at your fingertips. You can see publications as soon as they are approved to print. You can search for HBA memos and check “You Should Know”. Plus, you can order all of the NYSHIP Empire Plan publications and most of the DCS forms online. Many claim forms can be downloaded and printed immediately.

If you use a current Publications Supply Request Form, you will have a guideline for what to have on your shelves and what to order for new employees, but here are some additional suggestions:

General Information Book and Empire Plan Certificate (and ALL updates that complete the book). This means ALL of the Empire Plan Reports and any additions named Amendments.

Empire Plan Participating Provider Directory - Active enrollees are given the opportunity to order a book every year (by returning their postcard) and retirees receive a book automatically. But, actives can change their minds and new retirees might be moving to a different region of the country. You may have some books on hand or you may order them either with your paper order form or online. On HBA Online you have the choice of ordering directly for the individual and the directory will be sent out without coming to the agency first. A bonus!

Empire Plan Additional Materials - There are many helpful Empire Plan publications, including the important annual At A Glance. This group specific publication should be on top of your new enrollee package as it is a summary of your agency’s Empire Plan benefits. The Empire Plan Copay cards are a wallet-friendly list of copays. Every new hire should have some. The popular series of “Reporting Ons”: Centers of Excellence, Asthma, Diabetes, Healthy Babies and HCAP (pronounced H-Cap and about Durable Medical supplies). The Special Rx Report should go with the General Information Book/Empire Plan Certificate updates. The Empire Plan annual Preferred Drug List, the Medco by Mail order form (Medco Mail Service), and The Empire Plan Rx Enrollee Claim Form are also on the forms. The Empire Plan on The Road is a handy reference for the traveler or the student going to college.

Retirees should receive a complete package of materials as described above. This should save you time and phone calls later.

What should be off your shelves

Anything that is not on the current Publications Supply Request Order Form should be discarded. You can always check on HBA Online or look in your new publication cartons, but to get you started, we are sending you a current form with this memo. Both the PA Core and the PA Core Plus form are attached. If you have questions about which one you should use for your agency, please call the PA Unit at 518-474-2780.

Please Recycle!

What the Department of Civil Service automatically sends to new NYSHIP enrollees and retirees turning 65:

Mandated Packages Certain notices that are grouped together and sent automatically to new enrollees. The “Mandated Packages” include HIPAA and COBRA information and carrier and Department of Civil Service Privacy Notices. Participating Agency enrollees are directed to their agency for additional information. Please see HBA Memo PA07-14 for details.

65th Birthday Letters Retirees who are close to their 65th birthday are sent a letter to remind them that they must enroll in Medicare three months before they turn 65. A Medicare Part D letter and a Creditable Coverage Letter are enclosed as attachments with the 65th Birthday Letters.

What United States Postal Service (USPS) changes you will see as we return mail to you

We know you are all familiar with the mail we return to you that has been returned from the USPS. The Department of Civil Service works closely with vendors and the USPS to obtain the best postal discounts while making sure that essential NYSHIP materials reach every enrollee. You are a part of this process. We always mail using NYBEAS addresses. Some changes happen as the address file goes through USPS required standardization and some returns are due to bad addresses, temporary addresses and forwarded or expired forwarded addresses. You will notice we are moving into a more automated way of sending you the information and when we can, we will resend certain materials. For other materials, we ask that you give to the enrollee and check with them as to why the Post Office returned our mail to them. Our enclosure with each package of returns will tell you what action you need to take. If the address is currently correct on NYBEAS (and that includes ZIP codes, apartment numbers, etc.), then other than giving the new materials to the enrollee, or in some cases ordering a publication for them, there is nothing else you need to do.

We hope this memo is helpful. If you have questions about publications or this memo, please call EBD Communications at 518-457-7577. If you have questions about NYSHIP benefits or transactions, or to check something on NYBEAS, please call your EBD processor in the PA unit at 518-474-2780.