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.
DAVID A. PATERSON
GOVERNOR
DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL SERVICE
ALBANY, NEW YORK 12239
www.cs.ny.gov
NANCY G. GROENWEGEN
COMMISSIONER
PA10-04
PAEX10-04
TO: Participating Agency Health Benefits Administrators
FROM: Employee Benefits Division
SUBJECT: Dependent Eligibility Verification Project - Updated Listing and Revised Schedule
DATE: February 8, 2010
Enclosed is an updated list of employees of your agency who have not fully complied with the requirements of the NYSHIP Dependent Eligibility Verification Project. The list includes employees who have one or more dependents whose status remains as Ineligible as of February 5, 2010, either because no documentation was submitted or incomplete documentation was submitted. If you would like this list provided in EXCEL format via secure e-mail, please contact your processor.
HBA Memo PA10-01, dated January 13, 2010, indicated that the Dependent Eligibility Verification Project would end on February 12, 2010, and after that date enrollees would have to submit documentation directly to their agency to have eligible dependents reinstated to coverage. It also stated that all dependents listed as Ineligible would be deleted on February 25, 2010.
We still intend to process transactions to delete Ineligible dependents on February 25, 2010, with an effective date of February 1, 2009, however we have extended the end date of the project until March 12, 2010. Therefore, enrollees can continue to submit their documentation to the Department of Civil Service until March 12, 2010. After that date, enrollees will have to submit documentation directly to their agency to have eligible dependents reinstated to coverage.
Similar to previous reports, the enclosed listing includes a field to reflect the status of each enrollee’s documentation submission; Status Code O – “No Documentation Received by Budco” and Status Code I – “Incomplete Documentation Submitted to Budco.” Please note that while the enclosed listing reflects all dependents whose status is Ineligible as of February 5, 2010, their Status Code of “O” or “I” reflects the status as of the end of Budco’s administration of the project, January 15, 2010. Therefore, enrollees who have since submitted partial documentation may still be reflected as a Status Code “O – No Documentation Received” on the enclosed listing.
Please refer to HBA Memo PA10-01 for more details and instructions to assist enrollees in submitting their documentation. If you have any questions you may contact the PA/PE Unit at 518- 474-2780.