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
NY23-09
TO: New York State Health Benefits Administrators
FROM: Employee Benefits Division
SUBJECT: July 1, 2023 Empire Plan Benefit Changes for NY Active (CSEA/UCS/M/C; Legislature) Employees
DATE: May 11, 2023
As a result of the recently ratified contract between the State of New York and the Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA); Unified Court System (UCS) and its unions; and an administrative extension of collectively bargained benefit changes to employees designated Management/Confidential (M/C) in the Executive branch; State Legislature and other unrepresented employees, there will be NYSHIP rate changes effective July 1, 2023. As a result, there will be a Special Option Transfer Period, when affected employees may make changes to their NYSHIP coverage.
You have previously received HBA memo NY 23-07 notifying you of a mandatory Health Benefits Administrator (HBA) Webinar that was held explaining the implementation of the mid-year benefit and rate change and Special Option Transfer Period. If you were unable to attend, you may access the recorded webinar that is posted on the E-Learning page of HBA Online.
Special Option Transfer Period (June 1, 2023 – June 30, 2023)
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 June 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 This is not a Pre-Tax election period. Pre-Tax election changes may only be made during the Annual Pre-Tax Election 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. Please note: 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 June 1, 2023, through July 14, 2023.
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 |
7/6/23 |
|
Institution Lag-Exempt; Institution Lag |
Use date of request on PS-404 |
6/29/23 |
|
|
CCO/VOL CAN/VOL CCO/OPN CAN/OPN |
Admin Lag-Exempt; Admin Lag; Triple Lag |
6/30/23 |
7/6/23 |
|
Institution Lag-Exempt; Institution Lag |
6/28/23 |
6/29/23 |
|
|
Coordinating Changes between 2 State Employees |
Admin Lag-Exempt; Admin Lag; Triple Lag; Institution Lag-Exempt; Institution 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 these groups.