United States

Office of

Personnel Management

The Federal Government’s Human Resources Agency

Retirement and Insurance Service

Benefits Administration Letter

 

Number: 99-225 Date: December 11, 1999 

Subject: Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) Program: Capital District

Physicians Health Plan’s (CDPHP) Acquisition of Kaiser

Permanente/Community Health Plan of New York

Kaiser Permanente/Community Health Plan of New York (enrollment codes PW and QB) will be

acquired and administered by Capital District Physicians Health Plan (CDPHP), enrollment code

SG. CDPHP applied for and received approval for all counties within Kaiser

Permanente/Community Health Plan’s service area. The state of New York approved all of those

counties except Clinton and Sullivan (PW) Counties, and Putnam (QB) County. CDPHP is

therefore not authorized to operate a health plan in those counties. 

Employees enrolled in these enrollment codes, who are located in Clinton, Sullivan, or Putnam

County must transfer to another participating health plan in order to continue to receive benefits

under the FEHB Program. The current open enrollment period ends on December 13, 1999,

however, agencies are asked to apply this cutoff date liberally to allow employees to make their

change. The effective date of the new coverage will be the first pay period beginning on or

after January 1, 2000 (January 2 for most employees). Any employee who does not enroll in

a new plan will have to travel to the plan’s remaining service area to obtain benefits.

Kaiser will send its enrollees enrolled in codes PW and QB a letter advising them to make a

change to a new plan. We have attached a copy of that letter for your information.

Thank you for your cooperation in this matter.

Attachment

Abby L. Block, Chief

Insurance Policy

 and Information Division

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Civil Service Federal Employees Federal Employees Federal Employees

Retirement Group Life Health Benefits Retirement

System Insurance Program System
2

TO FEDERAL ENROLLEES OF KAISER PERMANENTE/COMMUNITY HEALTH

PLAN OF NEW YORK (CODES PW, QB) WHO LIVE OR WORK IN ONE OF THE

FOLLOWING COUNTIES:

Clinton, Putnam, Sullivan

Kaiser Permanente/Community Health Plan of New York (codes PW and QB) will be acquired

and administered by Capital District Physicians Health Plan (CDPHP). CDPHP applied for

approval for all counties within Kaiser Permanente/Community Health Plan's service area. The

State of New York approved all of those counties except Clinton (PW), Sullivan (PW) and

Putnam (QB) Counties. Accordingly, CDPHP is not authorized to operate a health plan in those

counties

To continue to receive benefits under the Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB)

Program, you MUST transfer to another participating health plan during the current open

season. You may want to contact your current providers to find out which health plans those

providers participate with under the FEHB Program. You may then contact your servicing

personnel office to enroll in one of those plans. If you do not change plans, you will have to

travel to the service area to receive benefits.

Please contact your personnel office to obtain a 2000 Guide to Federal Employees Health

Benefits Plans. You may request brochures directly from the health plans at the phone numbers

appearing in the Guide. You may also visit our 2000 FEHB web site (www.opm.gov/insure) to

view a plan’s brochure or the FEHB Guide and obtain valuable information to help you choose a

health plan.

IF YOU ARE AN EMPLOYEE we strongly encourage you to take a copy of this letter to your

personnel office immediately and enroll in a new plan. The effective date of the new coverage

will the first day of the first full pay period in January (January 2 for most Federal

employees).

IF YOU ARE AN ANNUITANT under the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) or Federal

Employees Retirement System (FERS), you should call Open Season Express at 1-800-332-

9798 or access Open Season Online at www.opm.gov/retire/fehb to make your enrollment

change. Please have available your CSRS or FERS annuity claim number and your social security

number when calling. If you are an annuitant of another Federal retirement system, you must

contact that system for assistance. Coverage under your new health plan will begin on

January 1, 2000.

We apologize for the inconvenience and thank you for your cooperation.