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
Commissioner
NY21-01
TO: New York State Health Benefits Administrators
FROM: Employee Benefits Division
SUBJECT: NYSHIP General Information Book for NY Active Employees (Empire Plan and HMO)
DATE: January 12, 2021
We are pleased to announce that an updated NYSHIP General Information Book (GIB) for active employees of New York State is at the printer and will soon be mailed to enrollee homes and NY agencies.
Revised Book
The 2021 General Information Book for NY active employees contains information regarding NYSHIP eligibility rules, enrollment options, requirements and costs. This updated publication replaces the 2017 General Information Book and applies to all groups enrolled in The Empire Plan, NYSHIP HMOs or the Opt-out Program. Please recycle any old copies of this publication that you may have in your office.
Distribution
We will send you a supply of two copies for your reference and use. This publication will begin mailing to enrollee homes by January 21, 2021. Mail files were pulled from NYBEAS on January 11, 2021. Any enrollee not on the file as of that date will not receive this mailing. You may, however, order a Quick Order (QO) package on HBA Online for any new hire since it will include this publication. Otherwise, you should include a copy of the new GIB in the package of information you give to new hires.
Publications Available on Our Website: https://www.cs.ny.gov/employee-benefits Please check our website for new publications. We generally post publications when we sign off for printing. Publications are available under Using Your Benefits.
Ordering Publications
You may order additional copies of the 2021 General Information Book for NY Active Employees (NY1371) on HBA Online under Publications & Forms. Please wait until you receive your shipment of the new publication before you place an order.
If you need help accessing HBA Online, contact the ITS Service Desk at 844-891-1786, fixit@its.ny.gov. or via chat at https://chat.its.ny.gov. If you are unsure of how to order publications or have questions about this distribution, please call the EBD Communications Unit at 518-457-7577.