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
NY23-13
PE23-08
PA23-09
SEHP23-04
PAEX23-09
TO: All Health Benefits Administrators
FROM: Employee Benefits Division
SUBJECT: 2023 Empire Plan Participating Provider Directory (PPD) Postcards and Directories
DATE: June 13, 2023
Empire Plan Participating Provider Directory Postcards
We have begun mailing the 2023 PPD postcards to all Empire Plan enrollees across the United States and Puerto Rico to meet our mandate of making directories available to all enrollees. The postcards will be broken out into four separate mailings to more closely align with the availability of the 2023 printed directories that cover the geographic areas in which enrollees live.
Postcards will be mailed as follows:
|
May 30 |
New York City, Upstate New York, Hudson Valley and Long Island |
|
June 26 |
Connecticut, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Northern Florida and Southern Florida |
|
July 5 |
North Carolina, South Carolina, Washington DC/Maryland, Virginia and out-of-state directories for: Alaska, Delaware, Hawaii, Idaho, Maine, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont, West Virginia and Wyoming. |
|
July 12 |
Illinois, Arizona, Georgia, and the remaining out-of-state directories for: Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Northern California, Northern Texas, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Southern California, Southern Texas, Tennessee, Utah, Washington and Wisconsin. |
Last year, we received more than 60,000 book orders between mailing and spring 2023.
While we encourage the use of the online directories for each Empire Plan Program available under the Find a Provider webpage because the data is updated more frequently, enrollees have three options for obtaining Empire Plan participating provider information:
- Use the Find a Provider search tool at NYSHIP Online:
cs.ny.gov/employee-benefits - Call The Empire Plan at 1-877-7-NYSHIP and select the appropriate program administrator
- Return the reply postcard (with a stamp) to request a directory for their mailing zip code or another state/region
Again this year, the New York, Florida, California, and Texas directories are divided into separate books due to size (see attachment, which is also posted on NYSHIP Online under the Resources tab). If an enrollee would like to order any of these directories, we request that the county or counties where they will be seeking services be listed on their returned postcard so the correct version can be mailed.
In compliance with Federal law, a website or email address is included for providers who have reported one. In compliance with State law, languages spoken by providers and/or their staff as well as provider hospital affiliations are listed for the New York directories only.
Directory Distribution
The 2023 PPDs for New York will begin to mail to those who request them in early July. Directories for Arizona, Connecticut, Georgia, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey, North Carolina, Northern Florida, South Carolina, Southern Florida, Pennsylvania, Washington DC/Maryland and Virginia will follow in July and August. The remaining out-of-state versions are currently scheduled to begin mailing in late August and early September.
We will send you one directory based on your agency location. In response to feedback from HBAs, we will no longer mail other versions to you automatically. If you would like to have reference copies for your agency, please order them on HBA Online. On the forms and publications page, the directory order form is located at the top of the page. We will add versions to the order form as they are printed and available in inventory.
Quick Order Packages
A reminder that a blank PPD postcard is included in the Quick Order packages that you may order on HBA Online for your new hires or new retirees who may want to request a printed directory.
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.