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
TIMOTHY R. HOGUES
Commissioner
NY22-22
TO: New York State Health Benefits Administrators
FROM: Employee Benefits Division
SUBJECT: October 2022 Empire Plan Special Report for Council 82
DATE: October 31, 2022
The October 2022 Empire Plan Special Report for Council 82 (C-82) is now available online and will soon be mailed to enrollee homes and agencies. This publication explains 2023 Empire Plan benefit changes as a result of the collective bargaining agreement between C-82 and the State of New York. The enrollee mailing also includes updated 2023 copayment cards.
Since these changes are effective January 1, 2023, health insurance option changes may be made during the regular Option Transfer Period, which will be announced when rates are approved. Refer to HBA memo NY 22-18 for additional information about the 2023 Option Transfer publications and watch for a future memo with processing instructions when rates are approved.
The October 2022 Empire Plan Special Report for C-82 (NY1455) includes:
Copayment changes, 2023 Empire Plan Advanced Flexible Formulary change and out-of-network deductible and coinsurance amounts.
The copayment cards for C-82 (NY1454) include:
New Empire Plan copayments as a result of negotiated changes, effective January 1, 2023.
Distribution
The Report will begin to mail to enrollees’ homes in late October. The mail files were pulled from NYBEAS on October 22, 2022, so any enrollee who was not on the file on that date should be provided with a copy. We will send you two copies each of the Report and copayment card.
Publications Available on NYSHIP Online: www.cs.ny.gov/employee-benefits
You can also access the Report online under the Using Your Benefits tab then click on Current Publications on the NYSHIP Online home page.
Ordering Publications
You may order additional copies of the Report or copayment card on HBA Online under Publications & Forms. Please do not order copies until you have received your shipment.
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.