Empire Plan services expand

UUP bargaining unit members enrolled in the Empire Plan can now save some money on complementary and alternative medicines.

Effective Oct. 1, the Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) Program offers Empire Plan participants discounted rates when using participating acupuncturists, massage therapists, dieticians and nutritionists. CAM will be administered by the Managed Physical Network (MPN) group, which also administers the physical therapy and chiropractic benefits for the Empire Plan.

Since this program was new to MPN, the first step was to sign up providers. At last reporting, the program has 273 participating acupuncturists, 127 dieticians and nutritionists, and 257 massage therapists. All of the providers participating in the program were credentialed by MPN.

Empire Plan participants who seek care from these providers will receive 25 percent off the providers’ regular fees. Since there is no reimbursement, there are no claim forms to file and no limit on visits. A participant simply shows his/her New York State Government Employee Benefit card to receive the discount. A provider will expect participants to pay the remainder of the charge at the time of service.

You can find a list of participating providers at http://www.empireplancam.com. This Web site also provides information about the services under the program. For example, the page on acupuncture describes some of the different procedures used by acupuncturists and what purposes they serve.

The Joint Labor/Management Committee on Health will be closely watching the new program. If you have an experience with the program that you would like to share, send an e-mail to benefits@uupmail.org.

Deadlines

Next month, I’ll be writing about all the choices that you’ll soon need to make. The following deadlines will soon be upon us:

• Option Transfer Period — Choose or change your health insurance carrier. This usually begins in November. For more details, go to http://www.cs.state.ny.us/ebd/. Click on the option transfer icon.
• Sick Leave Exchange Program —Exchange three sick days for $300 toward your health insurance premium. The enrollment period runs from Nov. 1-30. You must re-enroll each year. More information can be found at http://www.esc.edu/UUPbenefits.
• Health Care Spending Account — Put pre-tax money aside to pay unreimbursed medical expenses. The enrollment period runs from Sept. 17-Nov. 9. You must re-enroll each year. For more details, go to http://www.flexspend.state.ny.us/2002/hcsa.asp.
• Dependent Care Advantage Account —Receive an employer contribution and put pre-tax money aside to pay for dependent care. Enrollment runs from Sept. 17-Nov. 9. You must re-enroll each year. Go to http://www.flexspend.state.ny.us/2002/dcaa.asp for more details.
• UUP Benefit Trust Fund Scholarship Program — Scholarships awarded to eligible dependent children attending a state-operated SUNY school, earning 12 undergraduate credits with a semester grade-point average of at least 2.0. Applications must be received at the UUP Fund Office within 60 days following the last day of class.

-- Gail Maloy, Director of Member Benefits and Services