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
NY24-06
TO: New York State Health Benefits Administrators
FROM: Employee Benefits Division
SUBJECT: 2024 Special Option Transfer Period for DC-37 and NYSCOPBA Represented Employees– July 1 Benefit Changes
DATE: May 13, 2024
As a result of the recently ratified contract between the State of New York and District Council 37 (DC-37) and the recently ratified contract between the State of New York and the New York State Correctional Officers and Police Benevolent Association (NYSCOPBA), there will be NYSHIP rate changes for these groups effective July 1, 2024. As a result, there will be a Special Option Transfer Period, when affected employees may make changes to their NYSHIP coverage.
Special Option Transfer Period (May 28, 2024 – June 28, 2024)
Affected employees who wish to make changes to their NYSHIP coverage must sign a PS-404 Health Insurance Transaction form. Do not process PS-404 forms received after the June 28th 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. Employees may request changes that will affect their biweekly premium deduction (for example, request to change from family coverage to individual coverage or cancel coverage altogether). Enrollment in the Opt-out Program is not permitted during this Special Option Transfer Period.
Employees who request to enroll in NYSHIP coverage or to add a previously eligible dependent 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 two 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 must contact EBD to process such requests.
Keying Window for Special Option Transfer Period
HBAs will be able to process the following transactions from May 28, 2024 through July 12, 2024.
Processing Transactions on NYBEAS
When processing these transactions, HBAs should use the “request date” from the chart below to ensure the correct effective date is populated in 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. |
7/4/24 |
|
Institution Lag-Exempt; Institution Lag |
Use date of request on the PS-404. |
6/27/24 |
|
|
CCO/VOL CAN/VOL CCO/OPN CAN/OPN |
Admin Lag-Exempt; Admin Lag; Triple Lag |
6/30/24 |
7/4/24 |
|
Institution Lag-Exempt; Institution Lag |
6/26/24 |
6/27/24 |
|
|
Coordinating Changes between Two 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 dates on which paycheck 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. To access the HBA Manual and for information regarding the benefit and rate changes affecting these groups, visit HBA Online at https://www.cs.ny.gov.