Contract College NYSHIP Members: Recently Enacted NYS Laws that Affect Health Insurance
You may have heard of the recent passage of legislation announced by Governor Paterson's office that changes coverage requirements for persons who hold membership in a fully-insured health plan. The initial indications were that the Governor intended the self-insured health plan for state employees, NYSHIP, would also be covered under these provisions. NYSHIP sponsors the Empire Plan and the various HMOs throughout the state, which Cornell contract college faculty and staff use as their health insurance options.
We now have confirmation from the NY State Department of Civil Service that NYSHIP will indeed implement the provisions of the new law. Please see the communication below copied from their system's website, a message intended for health plan administrators.
NYSHIP will be taking some time to identify the exact changes to their policies and procedures, but their tentative plans are to aim for a January 1, 2010 effective date. However, there are some COBRA extension provisions NYSHIP will implement right away as briefly noted in the message.
As we learn more, we will pass it on to you in this special communication forum. Please feel free to pass on this message to interested people in your areas. We also plan to make some appropriate general announcements as more information becomes available.
Paul Bursic, director of Benefit Services
Message from New York State Department of Civil Service