Department of Civil Service

SEHP08-01

TO: Student Employee Health Plan (SEHP) Health Benefits Administrators
FROM: Employee Benefits Division
SUBJECT: SEHP Materials
DATE: December 30, 2008

The purpose of this memo is to inform you of a number of changes and updates regarding materials and resources for SEHP enrollees and their dependents.

As you may have noticed, HBA memos for this group are now labeled with SEHP codes. This is due to the expansion of the group to include graduate students from the City University of New York. You will also notice that Plan materials and the web sites use this reference rather than the negotiating union name (GSEU) that was formerly used.

2009 Rate Letter

The SEHP rate letter for 2009 was mailed first class to enrollee homes on December 23, 2008. Rate information was also posted on NYSHIP Online in early December when rates were approved. A copy of the letter is attached for your information and use. This letter is also included in the SEHP New Hire package, which is only available to order on HBA Online.

January 1, 2009 Benefit Summary

The SEHP Benefit Summary has also been revised for 2009 to incorporate information on the new Mental Health and Substance Abuse vendor, UnitedHealthcare/OptumHealth Behavioral Solutions. Information regarding eligibility and enrollment was also removed from this publication so that it could apply to all enrollees. A standalone version of this information is attached for State University of New York (SUNY) HBAs only for your use and information. Please note that this piece is NOT included in the new hire package so you should provide it to new hires who are represented by GSEU.

The SEHP Benefit Summary will be mailed first class to SUNY SEHP enrollees during the week of December 29, 2008. CUNY SEHP enrollees should have already received this information during their open enrollment period in November. This publication is also included in the SEHP New Hire package and is available online. We will send SUNY HBAs a supply equal to 2 percent of your SEHP enrollment for your use. For additional copies, use the Supply Order Form enclosed with your shipments or order on HBA Online.

New SEHP Benefit Card

SEHP enrollees now have a new benefit card (see graphic right). All CUNY SEHP enrollees and any new or replacement cards for SUNY SEHP enrollees ordered on or after December 17, 2008 will receive this new card. The first batch was mailed first class to the NYBEAS address on file on December 22, 2008. Weekly issue of new and replacement cards will continue to be run and enrollees and any eligible dependents will receive individual cards.

The expiration date for these cards is August 31, 2009. Please note that current SUNY SEHP enrollees will NOT receive the new cards unless a replacement is ordered. Other than the design and MHSA vendor name change, there is no difference between the old and new cards. The old cards will still work fine for SUNY SEHP enrollees. Please help us to keep costs down by not ordering unnecessary replacements.

As is our normal procedure, the annual reissue will be done in July 2009 or sooner if the group settles their contract and reissue is required as a result.

NYSHIP Online

As referenced earlier, our web sites (NYSHIP Online for enrollees and HBA Online for HBAs) have been modified to incorporate changes with the name and composition of the SEHP group. A new enhancement for this group is the availability of MyNYSHIP Employee Self Service. SEHP enrollees who register for MyNYSHIP and receive an activation code in the mail can change their address online, update dependents and order new benefit cards. Enrollees must be in NYBEAS to use MyNYSHIP.

If you have any questions regarding this memo, please contact EBD Communications at 518-457-7577. If you have any questions about SEHP benefits, please call your EBD processor.

Attachments:
SEHP Rate Letter
2009 Eligibility, Enrollment, and cost for SEHP: GSEU