To:  Employees Enrolled in a City of New York Health Plan

From:  Donna Katz, SPHR
  Associate Director of Human Resources

Date:  July 18, 2005

Re:         Health Plan Rate and Co-Payment Changes-IMPORTANT NOTICE

As you are aware, each July 1st, the New York City Health Benefit Program 
(NYCHBP) implements annual renewal rates for health plan carriers.  The new 
rates will be reflected in the July 21, 2005 paycheck. As you know, the 
optional rider for prescription drugs is usually provided by your welfare 
fund and the cost is not passed along to you. If you have purchased the 
Aetna prescription rider, the co-payments have increased to $10 for 
generics,  $20 for formulary drugs and $35 for non-formulary drugs.

The new rate charts can be found on the Human Resources website and at the 
Office of Labor Relations website at 
http://www.nyc.gov/html/olr/downloads/pdf/healthb/emp_rates.pdf.  Please 
note that the Aetna HMO and QPOS have increased their co-payment for 
specialist office visits to $20. If you have any questions, please e-mail 
me at [log in to unmask] or call me at (212) 802-2740.