The principal health insurance plan in New York is The Empire Plan, also known as NYSHIP (New York State Health Insurance Program). It is the largest public employer health insurance program in the U.S., with over 1.2 million members.
This program, created decades ago, offers an impressive range of health plans to both state and local government employees. Not only are active employees eligible for coverage, but so are retirees, dependents and dependent survivors. However, the program was not always so versatile. When NYSHIP was first founded in the late 1950’s, coverage only extended to state employees. It eventually branched out to include employees of local government and local employees of the school district.
A few decades later, in 1986, the Empire Plan was rolled out, qualifying an even larger group of state and local employees for coverage. This steady growth is a testament to the company’s dedication to covering those New Yorkers on whom the public counts with members ranging from public school teachers, to local librarian staff, to firemen and utility company workers.
The Empire Plan insurance packages offers a wide variety of coverage. Most coverage includes prescription medication, inpatient and outpatient hospital visits, and treatment for infertility, cancer, substance abuse and mental health. There are two types of programs available, depending upon which type of doctor you select. The Empire Participating Provider Network covers “in network” doctors and hospitals, while the Basic Medical Program covers doctors that fall outside of the network.
The premiums are notoriously affordable and they rarely spike in cost, unlike other for-profit insurance companies within the state. In addition to low premiums, policy holders are granted access to a widespread network of doctors, surgeons and specialists. There are over 190,000 doctors available to Empire Plan policy-holders.
Fact: The average Empire Plan premium increase was 4% throughout the last five years
Dr. Bennett and his staff have a large amount of respect for school teachers, firemen, librarians and other public employees who make up the fabric of our local community. We believe that these folks deserve top-notch medical care, for the most affordable price, from the initial consultation to the recovery period.
New York State’s Empire Plan offers a wide variety of sinus and nasal coverage, so if you are a member of the Empire Plan, as an out of network provider, we are happy to serve you. Dr. Bennett is a double-board certified specialist who works exclusively on the nose. He focuses on septoplasty, sinuplasty, turbinoplasty and functional rhinoplasty procedures. Dr. Bennett and his insurance specialists are flexible and willing to work within the parameters of your plan to serve you, just as you continue to serve our community.