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
NY22-03
TO: New York State Health Benefits Administrators
FROM: Employee Benefits Division
SUBJECT: Revised Empire Plan Certificate for New York State Retirees
DATE: January 28, 2022
The updated Empire Plan Certificate for NY Retirees with changes effective January 1, 2021 is now available on NYSHIP Online and will soon be mailed to enrollee homes and shipped to agencies. The enrollee mail file was pulled from NYBEAS on December 18, 2021. As a reminder, please order an Empire Plan Quick Order package on HBA Online for any new retiree with a retirement date after this date to ensure they receive a complete set of benefit information.
Amendments detailing changes to The Empire Plan since publication of the 2014 Empire Plan Certificate are also available on NYSHIP Online and HBA Online as a reference. The new Certificate replaces the 2014 publication and the online amendments have been incorporated into the print version as well as the online Certificate.
Distribution
For reference, we will send you two copies of the Empire Plan Certificate. Note: If you maintain NYSHIP materials in your office for groups in your agency, the materials on your shelves should mirror the group’s updated fulfillment form. Please recycle any old materials that do not appear on the updated form.
Publications Available on NYSHIP Online: www.cs.ny.gov/employee-benefits
Please check NYSHIP Online for new publications. We generally post publications when we sign off for printing.
Ordering Publications
You may order additional copies of the new Certificate 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.