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.
ANDREW M. CUOMO
Governor
LOLA W. BRABHAM
Acting Commissioner
NY18-12
PE18-04
PA18-02
SEHP18-03
PAEX18-02
TO: NYSHIP Participating Employers (NYS, Participating Employers (PE) and Participating Agencies (PA)
FROM: Employee Benefits Division
SUBJECT: NYBEAS Access and HBA Online Access
DATE: April 24, 2018
Agencies that participate in the New York State Health Insurance Program (NYSHIP) are granted access to Department of Civil Service (Department) systems to assist with administering the Program benefits. This memo provides detailed information regarding these systems and how to obtain, remove or change who has access.
What are the Department Systems?
The New York Benefits Eligibility and Accounting System (NYBEAS) is the system that maintains NYSHIP enrollment information for a NYSHIP participating employer. NYSHIP information can be viewed and changed as necessary by a designated user within an agency. All NYBEAS users must be HIPAA trained and compliant. The designated users are the agency staff members who work directly with employee benefits and are responsible for enrolling and updating an enrollee’s NYSHIP benefit information (including but not limited to adding or removing dependents, updating address information, updating Medicare information, etc.) EBD refers to the staff responsible for administering NYSHIP benefits as the agency Health Benefits Administrator (HBA).
HBA Online is an online resource that contains current and historical NYSHIP information, as well as up-to-date memos and announcements specifically prepared for employers providing NYSHIP administered benefits to their employees. This database does not contain member-specific, personally identifiable information or protected health information. The Department communicates with HBAs through HBA Online and NYBEAS.
How Does My Agency Receive Access to Department Systems?
Each agency must designate a Data Access Officer (DAO). The DAO is the officer of the agency who is authorized to request user permissions to NYBEAS and HBA Online. The DAO also has the responsibility to terminate NYBEAS permissions for users who are no longer associated with the agency. To comply with internal control mandates, the DAO will NOT be provided with NYBEAS access. The DAO is solely responsible for assuring that only HIPAA compliant agency employees, with a demonstrated business need, are provided access to NYBEAS.
How Does My Agency Designate a DAO?
Agencies designate or change DAOs by sending EBD a completed DAO form EBD 545 (enclosed) signed by the authorized signatory of the agency, in most cases this is the organization’s CEO, COO, Director – or the authorized signatory’s designee.
If you do not know if your agency has a DAO designated on file, call the HBA Help Line at 518-474-2780 for assistance. If a DAO is not on record, the agency will be asked to establish a DAO. This must be done before any adds, deletes or changes to user permissions can be processed. On a temporary basis, EBD can act as the DAO for agencies that do not have personnel to fulfill that role.
How Does a DAO Add or Remove User Permissions to Department Systems?
DAOs update user permissions through the Civil Service Online Permission Request System (OCSPR). OCSPR is located on the DCS website at:
https://www.cs.ny.gov/login/?tlsd=/permissions-request/index.cfm.
OCSPR may be accessed via www.cs.ny.gov. From the Department homepage go to: HR Professionals > New York State Human Resource Professional > Directories and Accounts > User Permission Request.
In OCSPR, a DAO can request adds, deletes or changes to user permissions for both NYBEAS and HBA Online. From the OCSPR home page, the DAO can add or remove a user by selecting “Submit a Request,” or view an employees’ current permissions by entering the employees’ SSN under “Employee Permissions Summary.” When submitting a request to add permissions for an HBA, the DAO should indicate if the user is a new HBA under the “Request Comments” section. Once a request is approved, the DAO will receive two e-mails from the ITS Service Desk. One e-mail will provide the User ID for the new user and one will provide the password associated with the User ID. As a matter of internal controls only the DAO who requested user permissions will receive an e-mail. The DAO is responsible for providing this information to the user. Note: No e-mail will be received when user permissions are terminated.
DAOs who have questions regarding OCSPR navigation should review the OCSPR “User Manual,” which is accessible through the OCSPR home page. For other OCSPR issues, or if a DAO is unable to access OCSPR, they should contact the HBA Helpline at 518-474-2780. EBD will first verify that a DAO has been established for the agency and provide the assistance that it can, but may refer the matter to the ITS Service Desk if an established DAO is having issues with OCSPR.
What Kind of Access Levels Are Available for Department Systems?
NYBEAS has two levels of permissions available for Participating Agencies and Participating Employers: Read Only (Inquiry) Access or Transaction Processing Access.
NYBEAS – Read Only Access allows a user to view NYSHIP enrollment information, but they cannot make changes to information. This access may be appropriate for an agency individual who has a business need to review the information, but is not responsible for the day-to-day administration of NYSHIP benefits (ex. Someone in charge of personnel activities, including the Human Resource Director).
NYBEAS – Transaction Processing Access allows a user to view and update NYSHIP enrollment information. This access is appropriate for the primary and back-up individual responsible for day-to-day administration of NYSHIP benefits. HBAs should have NYBEAS – Transaction Processing Access.
HBA Online has one level of access – either a user has permissions to view and use HBA Online or they do not have permission. HBAs and their designated back up should have access to HBA Online to stay informed of changes. It is recommended that users check it regularly for new information. DAOs will be automatically granted HBA Online access when they are established through the DAO form.
EBD staff is available to assist regarding the use of both NYBEAS and HBA Online. If you have questions regarding this information, contact the HBA Helpline at 518-474-2780, Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
The DAO EBD 545 form is enclosed for your convenience.