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
NY21-13
TO: New York State Agency Health Benefits Administrators
FROM: Employee Benefits Division
SUBJECT: 2021 Special Option Transfer Period for Enrollees in the Agency Police Services Unit (APSU) Represented by the Police Benevolent Association of New York State (PBANYS)
DATE: June 21, 2021
Previously, you received HBA memo NY 21-08 notifying you of the implementation of benefit and rate changes for employees in the Agency Policy Services Unit (APSU) represented by the Police Benevolent Association of New York State (PBANYS) effective August 1, 2021. As a result, there will be a Special Option Transfer Period, when affected employees may make changes to their NYSHIP coverage.
Special Option Transfer Period (July 1, 2021 – July 30, 2021)
Affected employees who wish to make changes to their NYSHIP coverage must do so by signing a PS-404 Health Insurance Transaction form. Do not accept PS-404s received after the July 30th deadline.
During the Special Option Transfer Period, affected employees may make changes to their NYSHIP Option. Employees may choose The Empire Plan or a NYSHIP-approved Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) serving the area where they live or work. Enrollment in the Opt-out Program is not permitted during this Special Option Transfer Period. Employees may also request changes that will affect their biweekly premium deduction (for example, request to change from family coverage to individual coverage or cancel coverage altogether).
Employees who request to enroll in NYSHIP coverage or to add previously eligible dependents to existing coverage are still subject to NYSHIP’s late enrollment rules. Refer to the NYSHIP General Information Book for NY active employees for more information. Exception: Effective dates of enrollments, cancellations, and changes in coverage between 2 NYSHIP eligible employees who are married or in a domestic partnership, will be coordinated when requested by both employees within the Special Option Transfer Period. HBAs should coordinate this process by contacting EBD.
Keying Window for Special Option Transfer Period
HBAs will be able to process the following transactions from July 1, 2021 through August 13, 2021.
Processing Transactions on NYBEAS
When processing these transactions, HBAs should use the “request date” from the chart below. This will ensure the correct effective date is populated on NYBEAS. The appropriate effective date will automatically populate in NYBEAS based upon the employee’s payroll cycle shown below.
|
Transaction |
Payroll |
Enter this Request Date on NYBEAS |
Effective Date on NYBEAS |
|
PLN/CHG |
Admin Lag-Exempt; Admin Lag; Triple Lag
|
Use date of request on PS-404 |
8/05/21 |
|
CCO/VOL CAN/VOL |
Admin Lag-Exempt; Admin Lag; Triple Lag |
7/30/21 |
8/05/21 |
|
Coordinating Changes between 2 State Employees |
Admin Lag-Exempt; Admin Lag; Triple Lag;
|
Contact HBA Help Line at 518-474-2780 for assistance |
|
The Rate Changes flyer references the paycheck date when changes will occur. Delays in processing will result in retroactive deductions or refunds.
Video tutorials and additional guidance on how to process transactions can be found in the HBA Manual and E-Learning section of HBA Online at: https://www.cs.ny.gov/employee-benefits/hba/shared/e-learning/index.cfm.
Note: Online option changes using MyNYSHIP will not be available to enrollees during the Special Option Transfer Period.
If you have questions about this memo, please contact the HBA Helpline at 518-474-2780. Visit HBA Online at https://www.cs.ny.gov to access the HBA Manual, and for information regarding the benefit and rate changes affecting this group.