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
NY25-03
TO: New York State Health Benefits Administrators
FROM: Employee Benefits Division
SUBJECT: 2025 Special Option Transfer Period for PBA Represented Employees – April 1 Benefit Changes
DATE: January 31, 2025
As a result of the recently ratified contract between the State of New York and the troopers and supervisors of the New York State Police represented by the Police Benevolent Association (PBA), there will be NYSHIP rate changes effective April 1, 2025. As a result, there will be a Special Option Transfer Period during which affected employees may make changes to their NYSHIP coverage.
Special Option Transfer Period (March 1–31, 2025)
Affected employees who wish to make changes to their NYSHIP coverage must complete and sign a NYSHIP Health Insurance Transaction Form (PS-404). Do not process PS-404 forms received after the March 31 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 also request changes that will affect their biweekly premium deduction (e.g., 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 that 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 March 1, 2025, through April 18, 2025.
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 automatically populated in NYBEAS.
|
Transaction |
Payroll |
Enter This Request Date in NYBEAS |
Effective Date in NYBEAS |
|
PLN/CHG |
Admin Lag-Exempt; Admin Lag; Triple Lag
|
Use date of request on PS-404 |
03/27/25 |
|
CCO/VOL |
Admin Lag-Exempt; Admin Lag; Triple Lag |
03/26/25 |
03/27/25 |
|
Coordinating Changes between two State Employees |
Admin Lag-Exempt; Admin Lag; Triple Lag
|
Contact HBA Help Line at 518-474-2780 for assistance |
|
Premium changes could be reflected in paychecks as early as March 26, 2025. 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: www.cs.ny.gov/employee-benefits/hba/shared/e-learning/index.cfm.