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
SEHP10-15
TO: Health Benefit Administrators
FROM: Employee Benefits Division
SUBJECT: Upgrade/Implementation of HBA Help Line
DATE: October 21, 2010
Effective October 25, 2010 the software used to handle the Employee Benefits Division’s (EBD) telephone calls will be upgraded. The new software will enable EBD to route calls from agency Health Benefits Administrators and enrollees more efficiently and reduce the current wait times. This memo explains the basic changes that will occur during this implementation.
HBA Line (518-474-2780)
Agency HBAs will now be required to dial 518-474-2780 to speak with their processor or with other unit personnel within EBD. The new software will prompt you to enter your agency code and you will then be given the option of being directed to your processor or to another unit within EBD. Reminder: Your processor should be handling all calls regarding enrollment and the processing of transactions.
Beginning October 25, 2010, the processors’ telephone numbers currently in use will be deactivated. The new software has been programmed to route all HBA calls directly to the appropriate processor, based upon the agency code entered. If your processor is already on the line or unavailable, you will be given the option to hold the line until the processor is available or to leave the processor a voicemail message.
When leaving voicemail messages, please leave detailed information regarding your inquiry, in addition to the enrollee’s Social Security Number or Empire Plan identification number. This information will allow us to research and become familiar with the record upon returning your phone call.
When your processor is out of the office, supervisory staff will have the capability to change the routing of your call to another processor.
E-mailing Your Processor
For record-keeping and statistical purposes, we are modifying the receipt of communication via e-mail. Should you prefer e-mail, you must now use the following e-mail address:
The subject line of the e-mail should contain only your 5-digit agency code. Please do not send Social Security Numbers via email.
Please note that any inquiries sent directly to the processor’s email address will be forwarded to the new e-mail address.
Enrollees
For enrollee calls, the toll-free (1-800-833-4344) and local (518-457-5754) telephone numbers have not changed, however the prompts will be more user-friendly. The new software will more accurately route the caller to the appropriate unit within EBD, by matching the social security number entered to the NYBEAS record.
We thank you for your patience and cooperation during this transition.