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
NY22-07
TO: New York State Health Benefits Administrators
FROM: Employee Benefits Division
SUBJECT: Revised Online January 1, 2021 Empire Plan Certificates for CSEA, DC-37, M/C; Legislature, NYSCOPBA, PBA and UUP
DATE: April 29, 2022
We are pleased to announce an update to the 2019 versions of the Empire Plan Certificate for active employees of the State of New York in the following groups: CSEA, DC-37, M/C; Legislature, NYSCOPBA, PBA and UUP. The revised Certificates have been updated with amendments through January 1, 2021 and will only be available online (on both NYSHIP Online and HBA Online). Although this is a departure from past practice, it is intended to provide improved customer service and updated benefit information to both Empire Plan enrollees and HBAs.
Amendments detailing changes to The Empire Plan since publication of the 2019 Empire Plan Certificate are also available on NYSHIP Online and HBA Online as reference. The amendments have been incorporated into the online versions of the Certificate and the previous (2019) version for each affected group has been archived online for reference only.
Impact on Publication Orders
As noted above, the January 1, 2021 Certificates for these groups will not be printed or available to order at this time. Many of the affected groups have begun or will soon begin collective bargaining due to the expiration of their contracts and updated Empire Plan Certificates will be printed and mailed to enrollees and agencies on a group-by- group basis once new contracts have been ratified and implemented.
Until such time, the printed 2019 Certificates will continue to be available to order as standalone publications or as part of group Quick Order Packages. An insert will be included in each copy that notes that the most updated version of the Certificate is available online. A copy can be printed from the online PDF as well, if necessary.
With the update of the online Empire Plan Certificates, we have also streamlined the publication order forms for each affected group. If you maintain a supply of materials in your office, please refer to the updated publication form for each group and recycle any old materials.
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 project, please call the EBD Communications Unit at 518-457-7577.