memo
memo
TO:
Executive Board and Council Leaders
FROM:
DATE:
March 1, 2007
RE:
UPDATE
- April 1, 2007
Health Insurance Rate Changes and Special Option Transfer Period
As noted in last week’s memo regarding the April 1, 2007
Health Insurance Rate Changes and Special Option Transfer Period, a retroactive
adjustment will be done to account for the removal of the Medicare Part B
component from the rates that were charged to NYSHIP enrollees between January
1, 2006 and March 31, 2007. This retroactive adjustment of the premium rates
will result in a refund for the majority of members including those enrolled in
the Empire Plan during all or a portion of this period.
Members enrolled in HMOs that were less expensive than the Empire Plan
will also receive a refund.
The exact amount of the refund will vary from individual to
individual, depending on which health insurance option(s) the member was
enrolled in during this period and the type of coverage (individual or family).
The maximum refund for employees on the biweekly payroll from
January 1, 2006 through March 31, 2007 will be approximately $91. Civil
Service is in the process of calculating the refund amounts for each employee.
They expect this task to take several months.
Members enrolled in HMOs that were
more expensive than the Empire Plan (i.e., exceeded the cap on HMO premiums)
actually paid less in premium than they should have.
Although the state had threatened to seek recoupment
(refunds) of premium owed by HMO members who unknowingly underpaid biweekly
deductions from January 1, 2006 through March 31, 2007, they have reconsidered,
and notified us that they will not
pursue these refunds.
This victory is the result of our
collaboration with our union partners in the Labor Coalition, as well as other
interested parties such as the Retired Public Employees Association (RPEA) and
the Organization of Management/Confidential Employees (OMCE).