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
NY24-18
PE24-13
PA24-11
SEHP24-11
PAEX24-10
TO: All Health Benefit Administrators (HBAs)
FROM: Employee Benefits Division
SUBJECT: Revision of Policy Memo 139r4, “Required Dependent Proofs”
DATE: September 9, 2024
The Employee Benefits Division (EBD) is pleased to announce the revision of Policy Memo 139r4, “Required Dependent Proofs.”
Policy Memo 139r4 outlines the proofs of eligibility an enrollee must submit when requesting coverage for their dependent and clarifies the procedure for timely submission of proofs. As of the publication of the memo, a government issued photo identification (ID) or passport can be accepted in place of a birth certificate for spouses and domestic partners when a birth certificate is not available.
Other changes to the memo include improvements to the layout and revisions to the readability of the text. The complete memo can be viewed on the Policy Memo page of HBA Online: https://www.cs.ny.gov/employee-benefits/hba/shared/apps/policymemos/