Department of Civil Service

NY10-35

TO: New York State Health Benefits Administrators
FROM: Employee Benefits Division
SUBJECT: Communications Plan: Option Transfer Period for 2011
DATE: September 17, 2010

We are pleased to announce the communications schedule for this year's Option Transfer Period. A separate memorandum will address transactions and other option transfer items.

Poster
Earlier this week we sent you option transfer posters equal to two percent of your NYSHIP enrollment as a reminder of the Option Transfer Period, the Flex Spending Account deadline of November 16, the Productivity Enhancement Program deadline of November 27, the pre-tax deadline of November 30, and to announce the November 1 start of open enrollment for young adults. Please post them immediately and leave them up through the Option Transfer Period.

As we did last year, we will post a PDF of the Option Transfer Poster on HBA Online with this memo for agencies that no longer post paper versions and instead use electronic means for communication with employees. If you would like to opt out of receiving paper copies of ALL posters in the future, please contact the Communications Unit at (518) 457-7577 and make this request, including your agency name and code.  

Planning for Option Transfer
Planning for Option Transfer flyers will be mailed to enrollee homes beginning September 20, 2010. We will also ship you a supply of flyers equal to three percent of your NYSHIP enrollment. Please distribute these at information meetings and to employees who request them. If your agency requires more than three percent, please use the enclosed Special Order Form to order more. Or use the online publication ordering system. Look for [NF0383 Planning for OT/Sept 2010].

Health Insurance Choices and 2011 Empire Plan Benefits for Unsettled Groups
We will also ship you a supply of Choices, this year's option transfer booklet, in October. This year, we are publishing only one version of Choices for active employees. This version may be distributed to enrollees in settled groups and unsettled groups.

However, since The Empire Plan benefit and copayment information in Choices does not apply to enrollees in unsettled groups, new for 2011, we will also publish a 2011 Empire Plan Benefits for Unsettled Groups flyer that you can provide to these individuals in addition to Choices.

As of the date of this memo, the following groups should receive only the Choices booklet:

• Council 82 (except employees in the Agency Law Enforcement Services Unit (ALESU))
• CSEA;
• DC 37;
• Legislature;
• M/C;
• NYSCOPBA;
• PBA-Troopers;
• PBA-Supervisors;
• PEF;
• PIA;
• Unified Court System; and
• UUP (except employees in lifeguard titles).

As of the date of this memo, the following groups should also receive the unsettled 2011 Empire Plan Benefits flyer:

• Council 82 employees in ALESU; and
• UUP employees in lifeguard titles.

We will ship you a supply of Choices at 10 percent of your NYSHIP enrollment. We will only send the 2011 Empire Plan Benefits for Unsettled Groups flyer to those agencies that have enrollees in these groups. When the unsettled groups reach agreement, new enrollees in these groups should receive only the Choices booklet. You will receive notification of this from EBD when it occurs. Please distribute the appropriate publications for their group to employees who request them. Our inventory will accommodate agencies that need more than the supply shipped. You can order more from the Special Order Form attached to this memo or online, but please do not order publications until you have received your shipment.

Benefits Information
The Empire Plan benefit information in Choices and in the 2011 Empire Plan Benefits for Unsettled Groups is up to date for January 1, 2011. We will provide any additional information to you as it becomes available. Please provide employees with the most recent group-specific information when they request it.

Distribution of Rate Flyer
A six-page rate flyer, Rates & Deadlines for 2011, will be mailed to enrollee homes when rates are approved. The rate flyer provides the rates for 2011, the deadline for option changes and other important dates, such as payroll deduction dates. We will send you a supply equal to three percent of your NYSHIP enrollment at the same time.  

Option Transfer Policy for NYSHIP enrollees with Retiree Benefits
Remember, NYSHIP enrollees with retiree benefits* are permitted to change health insurance options at any time once during a 12-month period. This policy was changed in 2003 to allow retirees more flexibility and time to consider personal factors affecting their health insurance option.
Note: A change during the August 2010 Special Option Transfer Period will not be counted as an option change for the purposes of the once in a 12-month period limit for retirees. Retirees may change options again during the Option Transfer Period for 2011 if they wish to do so.
*NYSHIP Enrollees with Retiree benefits include: Retirees, Vestees, Dependent Survivors and Enrollees Covered Under Preferred List Provisions of New York State Government and Participating Employers and COBRA enrollees with their NYSHIP benefits.

Retiree Choices/Information for other enrollees
Retiree Choices will continue to be published in four regional versions. The regional versions will be printed and mailed to enrollee homes as soon as they are available. Retirees will receive the version appropriate to the region where they live. There will also be a Statewide Retiree Choices booklet published for the 2011 plan year. We will send five statewide versions first and a separate shipment of one copy of each regional version when they are available. Please distribute the Statewide version to new retirees. Any enrollees on Leave Without Pay, COBRA and other direct-pay enrollees will receive Statewide Retiree Choices and rate sheets in the mail at home. You may order Statewide Retiree Choices throughout 2011. Regional Retiree Choices will not be available for reorder.

We will include with the Choices mailing, the 2011 Rates & Information for New York State Retirees flyer that includes the rates for each health insurance option for State agency retirees.

Information on the Web
All Option Transfer publications, including the rate flyers will be available on the Department of Civil Service web site at https://www.cs.state.ny.us as soon as we sign off for printing. To view the latest Option Transfer information available, go to https://www.cs.ny.gov/, click on Benefit Programs, then on NYSHIP Online. Select the group if prompted, and then click on Health Benefits & Option Transfer. Choose Rates and Health Plan Choices.

This information will also be available on the Employee Benefits’ administrative web site, HBA Online, https://www.cs.state.ny.us/ebdonline. Select Health Plan Choices on the home page to go to Option Transfer information. Note: This site continues to be your best option if you need to check benefit information for different groups frequently.

We will remove the 2010 Option Transfer information from both the public and administrative web sites in October. However, if you wish to view this information, it will still be available in the archives of each site. From the Department of Civil Service home page, click on Benefit Programs, then on NYSHIP Online. Select the group if prompted, and then click on Using Your Benefits. Choose Archived Publications. From the HBA Online home page, select Publications and Forms then scroll down to Archived Publications.

To order health benefits materials: A Special Order Form for Option Transfer publications is attached so that you may order additional materials during the Option Transfer Period. To order Choices during the Option Transfer Period, fax us the Special Order Form that is attached to this memo and also packed in the box with Choices, but please do not order publications until you have received your shipment. To order Option Transfer materials after the Option Transfer Period, please use the regular Publications Supply Request Forms.

To reach Communications: Please call (518) 457-7577 or FAX (518) 402-4697.

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