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.
KATHY HOCHUL
Governor
REBECCA A. CORSO
Acting Commissioner
NY21-29
SEHP21-09
TO: New York State and Student Employee Health Plan Health Benefits Administrators
FROM: Employee Benefits Division
SUBJECT: Revised Policy Memos
DATE: November 2, 2021
The Employee Benefits Division is pleased to announce the recent revision of Policy Memo 139r2, “Required Dependent Proofs.”
Policy Memo 139r2 outlines the proofs an enrollee must submit when requesting coverage for their dependent. The changes to the memo include additional guidance on proofs for adopted children, a reminder that a court filed acknowledgment of paternity can be accepted if a birth certificate does not prove a child’s relationship to an enrollee, and additional direction on how to verify and add dependents who are ineligible to receive a Social Security Number (e.g. citizens of other countries).
In addition to the changes described above, the memo has been revised for clarity and readability. The complete memo can be viewed on the Policy Memo page of HBA Online: https://www.cs.ny.gov/employee-benefits/hba/shared/apps/policymemos/.