Department of Civil Service

NY07-54

TO: State Agency Health Benefits Administrators
FROM: Employee Benefits Division
SUBJECT: HOP (Judicial employees)
DATE: December 12, 2007

HOP

The Health Option Program (HOP) provides eligible Judicial branch employees with the opportunity to exchange three (3) days of annual leave for a credit of up to $400.00. The credit will be applied against the cost of the employee share of their NYSHIP health insurance premium paid during the calendar year of 2008.

Enrollment

All eligible Unified Court System employees at or equated to SG 16 and below who wish to participate in the 2008 HOP must have filed an election form with their agency personnel office on November 16, 2007 through November 30, 2007.

Agencies are responsible for distribution and retention of the enrollment forms and coordination between the agency personnel office and the HBA with respect to certification of accrual adjustment(s) and initiating the PEP credit on NYBEAS.

Refer to your NOTICE of BENEFIT HEALTH OPTION PROGRAM DESCRIPTION (HOP) 2008 Questions and Answers for additional details.

Once enrolled for a program year, employees continue to participate in that year unless they separate from State service or cease to be NYSHIP contract holders. Leave forfeited in association with the program will not be returned, in whole or in part, to employees who cease to be eligible for participation in the program.

Any questions should be directed to your processor.

Health Insurance Premium Contribution Credit for HOP

For the 2008 HOP, the credit that will be applied to the biweekly employee share of the health insurance premium can be calculated as reflected below:

Full-Time Employees
The biweekly credit is equal to $15.38 ($400/26 paychecks) OR the biweekly cost of the enrollee’s employee share NYSHIP contribution, whichever is less.

Part-Time Employees
The biweekly credit is equal to $15.38 multiplied by the employee’s payroll/employment percentage OR the biweekly cost of the enrollee’s employee share NYSHIP contribution, whichever is less.

The amount of credit will only be adjusted if the enrollee moves from individual to family coverage during the program year.  For example:

Blue Choice (066)

Individual Premium (2008): $15.24
Family Premium (2008): $72.95
Calculated HOP credit: $15.38

An enrollee with individual coverage with Blue Choice, option 066, would get a HOP credit of $15.24, not the calculated credit of $15.38.  If that enrollee moves to family coverage, the credit would change to $15.38.

NYBEAS PROCESSING

To ADD the Health Insurance Premium Contribution Credit for HOP

**NOTE: For NYBEAS purposes, HOP is referred to as PEP

HBAs will process a PEP/ENR to add the credit to NYBEAS (see below). This transaction is part of the PEP enrollment panel. The credit will show on the enrollee’s billing record as a premium credit.

HOW TO ADD THE PEP CREDIT

• Follow the NYBEAS links from Home, Compensate Employees, Administer NYBEAS Updates, Use, PEP enrollment.
• An input screen will display (see next page). Enter the enrollee’s identification number in the search dialog box and click the search button.
• In the Plan Type field, enter 10 (for Medical). Press Tab.
• The Action and Reason fields will automatically populate (PEP/ENR).
• In the Request Dt field, enter the date of signature on the HOP (Judicial) enrollment form. The date should be November 16, 2007 through November 30, 2007 for all eligible employees (HOP)
• Press Tab.
• In the PEP Percentage field Type the employee’s payroll/employment percentage. Click Save. (The default is 100%)

To view the PEP percentage, click on Inquire, PEP Enrollment Inquiry.

To view the PEP credit calculated, click on Inquire, NYBEAS Update History and the Billings tab.

To view the actual PEP credit applied, click on Inquire, NYBEAS Update History and the Accounting tab.

* The actual PEP credit applied will be the lesser of the calculated amount or the enrollee’s health insurance premium.

Timing of NYBEAS Processing

It is important that the PEP Enroll transaction is keyed in time to impact the appropriate paycheck. Since the transaction can not be keyed until after the certification of the accrual adjustment, coordination with your agencies personnel/payroll staff who handles this is the key to timely PEP credit processing. See the below chart showing the dates to key the transaction and the impacted paycheck. The resulting impact on your employees’ paychecks may prompt numerous question and complaints for you to deal with.

**This panel will be open for keying until 2/19/08.

Administration Lag12/12/07-12/25/071/9/200812/27/07 thru 12/10/081

HOP Eligibility