Shift Support Network (805) 303-3476
For NYSHIP Empire Plan referral sources

Evening outpatient mental health care for Empire Plan members.

A structured program for New York State and participating agency employees, retirees and dependents, delivered by video.

  • Group sessions three evenings a week
  • Individual therapy weekly, 50 minutes
  • Psychiatry on the team. Licensed clinicians
  • PPO plans only. Not Medicaid or Medicare

The Empire Plan runs mental health through a separate administrator with its own clinical referral line. That line is called first. The Empire Plan and other PPO plans may cover it, out of network. Out-of-network benefits checked free by phone. A benefit check is not a guarantee of payment.

Who it is for

Empire Plan members, and the people who send them.

Who this fits
An adult member, retiree or dependent who needs more than a weekly appointment and wants to keep working.
Who refers
A union representative, a benefits office, an EAP counsellor, a treating therapist, or a discharging program.
Who it does not fit
Anyone at acute risk, anyone needing twenty-four hour supervision, and anyone on Medicaid or Medicare.
Referral line (805) 303-3476

Ask for the referral desk. No clinical detail by email, and nothing is discussed without a release.

The schedule

A week in the program.

Three evenings
Group sessionSecure video, clinician-led. Same cohort, same clinicians.
One day, your choice
Individual therapy, 50 minutesScheduled around a work day.
Group and one to one. Both every week, not one or the other.
Which three evenings. Confirmed on the clinical screen before a start date.
Times vary by cohort. The screen confirms yours before a start date.
Out of network, in plain terms

How the benefit works.

A PPO pays outside its network
A PPO normally pays a share of care from a provider outside the network, after the out-of-network deductible.
Mental health has its own benefit
Separate administrator, separate phone number, separate authorization. The number is on the back of the card.
Authorization comes before care
An out-of-network claim authorized in advance pays at the plan's allowed rate. One that was never authorized usually pays close to nothing.
What the member hears
The deductible, the coinsurance, what is left this plan year, and the program cost. Before a first session, not after.
Care is delivered where the patient sits. A New York address needs a New York licensed clinician. The benefit check confirms availability first.
How to refer

What a referral looks like.

1

Send the plan, not a chart

Carrier, plan type and the last four digits of the member ID. Nothing clinical by email.

2

Shift runs the benefit check

A call to the plan. Then a call back: deductible, coinsurance, what is left this plan year, program cost. Free, about ten minutes.

3

Clinical screen

A licensed clinician confirms fit and availability in that state.

4

What comes back to the referrer

A start note, and a discharge summary at the end, with a release on file.

Start a benefit check Open the benefit check

Three answers, no contact details on the first screen. A member can fill it in, or a referrer can walk through it with them on the phone.

Not affiliated with the Empire Plan, NYSHIP, the New York State Department of Civil Service or any participating agency. Shift is an independent provider.
No money moves either way. Shift pays nothing for a referral and asks nothing for one.
No coverage promise. A benefit check is not a guarantee of payment.
Adults only. This program serves adults eighteen and over.
If you are in crisis right now, call or text 988, the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, available twenty-four hours a day. Call 911 if there is immediate danger. This is an outpatient program and is not an emergency service.
Call (805) 303-3476