SEB Board authorizes 2024 medical plan premiums

On July 20, 2023, the School Employees Benefits Board (SEB Board) met. Board members attended in person at the Health Care Authority (HCA) building in Olympia and remotely. The meeting was open to the public both in person and via Zoom.

Meeting recap

Highlights are listed below. See the briefing book for all presentation materials.

After presenting the proposed 2024 employee premiums, with some plans having updated proposed premiums compared to those presented on July 13, HCA staff proposed the following resolutions for a vote. Voting yes on these resolutions includes authorizing premiums presented at the July 20 meeting and the underlying benefit design changes described during the July 13 meeting for all SEBB Program employee plans administered by each of these carriers:

  • SEBB 2023-08 — KPNW 2024 medical premiums: The SEB Board authorizes the Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of the Northwest 2024 employee premiums as presented on July 20.
  • SEBB 2023-09 — KPWA 2024 medical premiums: The SEB Board authorizes the Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of Washington 2024 employee premiums.
  • SEBB 2023-10 — KPWA Options 2024 medical premiums: The SEB Board authorizes the Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of Washington Options 2024 employee premiums.
  • SEBB 2023-11 — Premera 2024 medical premiums: The SEB Board authorizes the Premera 2024 employee premiums as presented on July 20.
  • SEBB 2023-12 — UMP 2024 medical premiums: The SEB Board authorizes the Uniform Medical Plan (UMP) 2024 employee premiums.

The Board passed the resolutions, with all three of the Kaiser Permanente resolutions passing with five yes and two no votes. The remaining resolutions passed unanimously. The board members concurred that they do not endorse or support the rate increases for the Kaiser Permanente plans, but several board members chose to vote for the Kaiser Permanente resolutions to keep those plans as a choice for SEBB Program members — especially those who are in current treatment plans and would be severely impacted if the Kaiser plans closed. Plan choices are important because SEBB members are in the best position to weigh their own financial and health circumstances when selecting a plan.

HCA staff provided presentations on the following:

  • Overview of open enrollment
  • Transition to WebMD as administrator of SmartHealth in 2024
  • Meeting schedule for 2024

Next meeting

This concludes the 2023 SEB Board season. The next public meeting of the SEB Board is scheduled for January 25, 2024, starting at 9 a.m. Board members and the public may attend in person or virtually via Zoom. A link or call-in number for virtual attendance will be noted on the meeting agenda and posted on the SEB Board Meetings and materials webpage.