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.
GOVERNOR
DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL SERVICE
ALBANY, NEW YORK 12239
www.cs.ny.gov
COMMISSIONER
DANIEL E. WALL
EXECUTIVE
DEPUTY COMISSIONER
PA00-15
TO: Participating Agency Health Benefits Administrators
FROM: Employee Benefits Division
SUBJECT: New NYSHIP General Information Book and Empire Plan Certificate for PA Core Plus Medical and Psychiatric Enhancements
DATE: October 6, 2000
New NYSHIP General Information Book and Empire Plan Certificate for PA Core Plus Medical and Psychiatric Enhancements
We are happy to announce that an updated NYSHIP General Information Book and Empire Plan Certificate for Active Employees, Retirees, Vestees and Dependent Survivors and their Dependents enrolled through Participating Agencies with Core Plus Medical and Psychiatric Enhancements is at the printer.
We will mail this book in mid-October to the homes of your active and retired enrollees with Core Plus Medical and Psychiatric Enhancements who were on the NYBEAS file as of September 25, 2000. You will receive a supply equal to 20 percent of your enrollment to hand out to new enrollees.
This book is dated July 1, 2000 and replaces the 1995 book as well as all Empire Plan Reports published for this group from 1995 through July 2000. Please remove those old materials from your shelves when you receive your supply of the new book.
The book has many helpful new features. For example, we have added telephone symbols to the front cover as a guide to prior authorization requirements, expanded the Medicare information and introduced a new easy-to-read design.
Core Only/Core Plus Medical
If your agency has enrollees with Core Only or Core Plus Medical Enhancements, continue to distribute the appropriate 1995 book and related Empire Plan Reports updating that book. The new book is only for Core Plus Medical and Psychiatric Enhancements.
Publications available on EBD Web site
Please check the Web site for copies of new publications. We generally post publications when we sign off for printing. That means you can see the publications before employees start receiving them. Go to the Department of Civil Service Web site: http://www.cs.state.ny.us and click on Employee Benefits and Services, then choose Participating Agencies.
Ordering Publications
If you need to reorder the new book [GIB-EP/PA CORE+MED & PSYCH/7-00], please use the Publications Supply Request Form on the back of this memo. If you are unsure how to order the publication you want, or if you have questions about this distribution, please call the Communications Unit at 518-457-7577.