 Act now to keep your dependent
students covered.
By LORRAINE SIMPKINS
Have a child age 19 or older and enrolled in the NYS
Health Insurance Program (NYSHIP)? Find out if he or she
is still eligible for coverage.
Your 19-24 year-old unmarried dependent children are
eligible if they are full-time students at an accredited
school and are otherwise not eligible for employer group
coverage.
They’ll continue to be eligible until they turn 25,
or until the end of the third month following the month
in which they complete course requirements for
graduation, whichever comes first.
Students who want to continue health insurance coverage
during the summer must have been enrolled in the previous
spring semester, and must be enrolled as full-time
students for the fall semester.
If a dependent child who was a full-time student in the
spring semester does not enroll as a full-time student
for the fall semester, coverage under the parent’s
policy will end on the last day of the month in which the
student was a full-time student attending classes.
If you want your child to continue to be covered without
interruption, you must act quickly in one of two ways:
• Continue coverage in NYSHIP under the federal
Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA),
or
• Convert to direct-pay contracts.
Better act fast
for COBRA
Under provisions of COBRA, the employee or a family
member is responsible for informing the Employee Benefits
Division (EBD) of the NYS Department of Civil Service of
a child’s losing NYSHIP eligibility within 60 days
from the date coverage ends — no excuses accepted.
To get a COBRA election form, write to:
NYS Department of Civil Service
Employee Benefits Division
Attn: COBRA Unit
State Office Building Campus
Albany, NY 12239
Include your Social Security number, the dependent’s
name, the reason for the request, the date coverage ended
and a telephone number where you can be reached during
the workday.
COBRA guarantees you the opportunity to continue for up
to 36 months the same health care benefits your child has
been receiving. But you have to pay the full premium
(both the employer’s and employee’s share),
plus a 2 percent administrative fee.
If your child is still seeking admission to a school for
the fall semester, but has not yet been accepted,
coverage should be continued through COBRA. Once your
child’s enrolled for the fall semester, his or her
dependent student status will be retroactively reinstated
to the date he or she lost eligibility. You will be
refunded the COBRA premium you paid during the interim.
Direct pay
another option
You have an alternative to COBRA. Children losing
eligibility as student/dependents are entitled to convert
to direct-pay contracts after their NYSHIP coverage ends.
Notification procedures and deadlines for applying for
conversion coverage vary among the NYSHIP health care
plans.
Benefits for direct-pay conversion contracts may differ
from what your child had under NYSHIP. To obtain premium
information, contact the carrier or HMO directly.
Additional information concerning COBRA and direct-pay
conversion contracts can be found in the NYSHIP General
Information Book for Empire Plan Enrollees dated June 1,
2002, and in the NYSHIP General Information Book for HMO
Enrollees dated March 1, 2002, as well as in documents
communicating changes made since then.
 GO TO HEALTH BENEFITS WEBSITE
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Inside This Issue:
Features
PEF pushes to plug corporate
tax loopholes
Members fight proposal to
merge NYSPI
PEF leads demonstration to
protect patients, RNs
Annual lobbying pays off for
PEF nurses
Union gets preliminary
injunction
Departments
President's Message: PEF is
major player
You Said It: Member's
letters this month
Member Mobilization:
Training with rallies
Nurses' Station: PEF acts to
protect nurses
Legislative Update: PEF gets
record restorations
Health Benefits: Empire Plan
Update
Legal Issues: Members win
grievance at DOL
PS&T Contract Update:
Talks continuing
Member Highlights
Retirees In Action: Huge
health hikes threaten
PEF Membership Benefits
Program & Travel Corp
Union Matters
PEF RNs deliver quality care
at Elmira PC
Full mobilization creates
union power in Reg. 5
PEF wins Article 78
Members bring Benson team
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