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
DANIEL E. WALL
EXECUTIVE
DEPUTY COMISSIONER
PA96-11
TO: Participating Agency Health Benefits Administrators
FROM: Employee Benefits Division
SUBJECT: Medicare Crossover
DATE: October 23, 1996
As part of our effort to enroll all Medicare-eligible Empire Plan enrollees in the Medicare Crossover Program, we want you to have up-to-date information for your employees who are planning to retire.
Beginning in December, MetraHealth Service Corp. will automatically enroll Medicare-primary Empire Plan enrollees who have not yet signed up for Medicare Crossover. (See Memorandum PA96-9 for previously distributed information on Medicare Crossover.)
MetraHealth will:
- identify retirees who are age 65 or over who have not yet enrolled in the Medicare Crossover Program.
- enroll these individuals using as their Medicare numbers their social security numbers with a suffix of "A".
- select their Medicare carriers based on the enrollee's address as it appears on the eligibility file.
- send the retiree a letter along with a brochure explaining the program and a form which will ask the retiree to add eligible dependents, correct their Medicare numbers if necessary and to add additional states where they may reside for part of the year.
While this automatic enrollment procedure will be repeated periodically, please encourage your employees to enroll in Medicare Crossover as soon as they or their dependent is eligible. While eligible enrollees will be automatically signed up through this process, dependents will not. It is important that this, and other applicable information, be correct on MetraHealth's file.
If you have any questions on Medicare Crossover, please call MetraHealth Service Corp. directly at 1-800-942-4640.
The New Medicare Crossover Brochure, Supply Request Form
Enclosed is the updated Medicare Crossover brochure. We have sent you a supply equal to 5% of your enrollment.
The attached Publications Supply Request Form has been updated to allow you to order recent publications. Photocopy as needed. Please do not use old copies of this form or write anything in the borders or white space. If you are unsure how to order the publication you want, or if you have questions about this distribution, please call the Communications Unit at (518) 457-7577.