Page 17 - Work Force July-August 2016

Attention New York state employees:
NYSHIP Dependent Eligibility Verification enters Phase 3
As required by the 2015/2016 New York State Budget, the state Department of Civil Service will be conducting an eligibility audit of dependents under the New York State Health Insurance Program (NYSHIP).
This dependent eligibility verification project is similar to
the audit conducted in 2009. HMS Employer Solutions (HMS) has been selected to administer all aspects of this dependent eligibility verification project. If eligibility was verified for
a natural child, stepchild or child of
a domestic partner in the 2009 audit, you will not be asked to verify their status during the current audit. Other dependents, such as spouses and domestic partners, will be required to submit documents even if they were verified in the previous audit.
A Special Amnesty Period was offered to enrollees earlier this year to allow for the removal of ineligible dependents before the actual verification project began. Enrollees
who voluntarily removed ineligible dependents from their coverage during that period were held harmless and will not be responsible for repayment of any claims paid
in error on behalf of the reported ineligible dependents.
After the Special Amnesty Period ended, NYSHIP enrollees with family coverage are required to provide documentation of dependent eligibility during the verification phase. Due to the size of the NYSHIP population, there will be three separate verification phases.
Phase 3 – New York State Employees with family coverage:
• Active employees of New York
state: July 5 – Aug. 19, 2016
Phase 2 (verification completed):
• Retirees of New York state
and Participating Employers (Authorities, etc.): May 2 – June 17, 2016. NYS has allotted for an
additional Grace Period to submit documents until July 6, 2016.
Phase 1 (verification completed, ineligible dependents removed; appeals by enrollees are still being accepted):
•
Participating Agencies
(Local Governments, Towns, Municipalities, etc.): Feb. 29 – April 15, 2016.
It is very important that enrollees respond and provide copies of acceptable proofs of eligibility (such as birth certificates or marriage certificates) in a timely manner during the appropriate verification phase. Dependents of enrollees
who fail to respond will be removed from coverage retroactive to Jan. 1, 2016. Additionally, enrollees may be responsible for repaying all health insurance claims for ineligible dependents as early as the date the dependent became ineligible.
For more information on the verification process, enrollees will be able to access the HMS secure online web portal (verifyOS.com) during their verification phase. Please note that the toll free number for the HMS call center will change with each phase of the project, so enrollees must reference the most recent letter from HMS for the correct phone number.
Free identity protection services for Empire Plan enrollees
Earlier this year, Anthem BlueCross/BlueShield, the parent company of the Empire Plan hospital program administrator, began offering free identity protection
services
to all
current
Empire
Plan
enrollees through AllClear ID.
If you think you’ve been a victim of identity theft, call AllClear
ID at 855-227-9830. A dedicated investigator will help you recover financial losses, restore your credit,
and make sure your identity is returned to its proper condition.
You can also sign up for AllClear Credit and Identity Theft Monitoring for an extra layer of protection.
For more information,
call 855-
227-9830 Monday
through Saturday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
central time.
If you were offered identity
protection in 2015 due to the cyber attack, that service is still available to you. Learn more at anthemfacts.com.
July-August 2016
The Work Force 17