By LORRAINE SIMPKINS
If you’re in the state’s Empire Plan, look for these benefit changes, authorized in the 1999-2003 PS&T contract, to start January 1, 2002:

• The copayment for emergency-room care will increase from $30 to $35;
• The hearing-aid reimbursement will increase from $1,000 to $1,200; and
• The basic-medical annual deductible and coinsurance out-of-pocket maximum will increase. The annual deductible will increase from $259 to $271 each for the enrollee, for the enrollee’s spouse or partner, and for all dependent children. The maximum annual, coinsurance out-of-pocket expense will increase from $1,247 to $1,303 per employee and covered dependents.

And on January 1, administration of the Benefits Management Program will be assumed by Empire Blue Cross and Blue Shield and United HealthCare. It was previously administered by Intracorp.

The Empire Plan requires you to call the Benefits Management Program:
• Before a scheduled hospital admission;
• Within 48 hours after an emergency or urgent admission;
• Before admission or transfer to a skilled-nursing facility;
• Before the birth of a child. In fact, you are encouraged to call as soon as a doctor confirms a pregnancy; and
• Before having a scheduled, outpatient magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

Call UHC at 1-800-942-4640 for MRI precertification.
For all of the other precertifications call Empire BCBS at (518) 367-0009 or 1-800-342-9815.

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