Contract College NYSHIP Members: New York State Embarks on Health Coverage Dependent Verification Process
New October 2009:
For Enrollees Whose Verification Period Ends 10/5/09: if Budco does
not receive all documents to verify the eligibility of your dependent(s)
by the end of the Verification Period on 10/5/09, Budco will continue to
review documents received through 11/25/09, the last day of the appeals
period. Documentation received by Budco after 10/5/09 will be reviewed by
Budco starting 10/27/09 and a separate letter will be sent by Budco after
the documentation has been reviewed.
If the required documentation is not received by 11/25, on 12/24/09, the
Department of Civil Service will cancel the coverage for your dependent(s)
effective 2/1/09.
Please note that Budco is in the process of completing its review of documents
received through 10/5/09. If you have not yet received a confirmation letter
from Budco and complete documentation was received by 10/5, you will receive
a letter from Budco between 10/23/09 and 10/29/09 confirming the eligibility
of your dependent(s). If you have submitted documentation, you should wait
until you receive this letter from Budco. If eligibility is not confirmed,
follow the instructions for submitting any necessary additional documentation
during the appeals period which will run from 10/27/09 through 11/25/09.
Posted June 2009:
All contract college faculty and staff enrolled in the New York State Health
Insurance Program (NYSHIP) who have family coverage as of 2/1/09 will receive
a letter in U.S. mail this week from the New York State Department of Civil
Service. This letter is in regard to the new NYSHIP
Dependent Verification Project.
The Dependent Eligibility Verification Project has been implemented to help ensure that every participant who receives benefits is entitled to those benefits by asking NYSHIP enrollees with family coverage to document the eligibility of all enrolled dependents. In years past, documentation to support eligibility for coverage was required when an enrollee first added a dependent to coverage. But, a dependent's eligibility for coverage may change over time, and the rules for providing proof of coverage have changed over the years.
During the period April 3-13, 2009 Budco Health Service Solutions (Budco) will be administering this project on behalf of NYS, and will mail information packets regarding the Special Amnesty Period to enrollees with family coverage. The Special Amnesty Period allows enrollees to remove ineligible dependents during this period without any penalties. Enrollees have until June 12, 2009 to report any ineligible dependents directly to Budco.
Early July 2009, Budco will send an information packet about the dependent eligibility requirements to enrollees who did not respond. If the enrollee fails to respond or does not provide acceptable proofs of eligibility for their dependents, the dependents will be removed from coverage. The enrollee will be responsible for repaying claims paid under NYSHIP for those dependents as early as the date the dependent was first added to coverage. NOTE: All documentation must be submitted directly to BUDCO, not to Cornell University's Benefits Services. Failure to do so will delay the review of the dependent's eligibility and may result in a temporary lapse in coverage for the dependent.
NYS provides a website for enrollees, which will be updated periodically.
Enrollees should contact Budco toll free at (888) 358-2198 if there are
questions.