TO: NYSCOPBA Chief Sector Stewards
Southern, Mid-Hudson, Northern and Central Regions
Empire Blue Cross/Blue Shield has made a decision to discontinue their HMO offering in NYSHIP for 2020. Although NYSCOPBA has a low number of members enrolled in Empire’s HMO plan (7 members in the Upstate Region, 8 members in the Downstate Region and 2 members in the Mid-Hudson Region), I felt it important to notify you of this termination in case any of our affected members reach out to you.
Letters were sent to those affected members on Friday, September 27th, advising them of the termination and explaining how to proceed with enrollment into another plan. They must go to their facility Personnel Office to review the Choices Guide for help in choosing another plan. (Members who don’t make a change will be automatically enrolled in the Empire Plan.) The letters also explain a provision for continued transitional care with a member’s current EBCBS HMO provider for up to 60 days (through February 29, 2020) should the member be either in an ongoing course of treatment with a provider for a life-threatening or a degenerative and disabling condition or disease, or in the second or third trimester of a pregnancy when new coverage becomes effective.
Retirees enrolled in this plan’s Medicare Advantage offering will also be affected. Letters are going out to those retirees this week. A total of 120 retirees will be affected (this number is plan-wide and not broken down by union).
Should you have any questions, feel free to contact me.
Sharon Smith, Health Benefits Specialist