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
NY23-19
TO: New York State Health Benefits Administrators
FROM: Employee Benefits Division
SUBJECT: 28-Day Initial Waiting Period, Effective October 1, 2023
DATE: September 8, 2023
Currently, employees newly hired into a benefits eligible position are subject to a 42- or 56-day waiting period before coverage begins. The length of the waiting period is dependent upon the employee’s group designation at the time of hire as shown below:
Beginning October 1, 2023, the initial waiting period for all newly eligible employees will change from 42- or 56-days to 28 days. This applies only to employees hired on or after October 1, 2023, who elect enrollment in Medical, Dental, and/or Vision coverage within their initial waiting period. This change applies to all NY groups except for Student Employee Health Plan (SEHP).
Please note, if an employee is hired prior to October 1, 2023, the original 42- or 56-day waiting period will still apply. Additionally, if an employee does not enroll in NYSHIP when newly eligible, they will continue to be subject to a late enrollment waiting period.
The General Information Book for NY active employees will be updated and reissued before the end of the year to reflect this change. The NY HBA Manual will reflect this change prior to the October 1 effective date. NYBEAS programing has been updated to appropriately apply the applicable waiting period as outlined above.
For example, if an employee is hired effective September 15th, 2023, NYBEAS will automatically calculate a 42 or 56 day wait as shown below:
Separately, if an employee is hired effective November 23rd, 2023, NYBEAS will automatically calculate a 28 day wait as shown below:
If you have questions about this memo, please contact the HBA Helpline at 518-474-2780; representatives are available between the hours of 9:00am and 4:00pm, Monday through Friday.