Funding parity was addressed by the Legislature in Engrossed Substitute Senate Bill 6241, which intended for insurance benefit allocations for school employees to be no less than rates for state employees. The amount of funding provided for PEBB and SEBB benefits will be addressed during standard legislative operating budget processes.

For every SEBB benefits-eligible employee, the employer will pay the funding rate, which includes the following:

• Employer share of medical premium contribution
• 100 percent dental premium
• 100 percent vision premium
• 100 percent basic life premium
• 100 percent accidental death and dismemberment premium
• 100 percent basic long-term disability premium
• K-12 remittance (for retirees)
• Administration

Yes, that is correct.

Yes, school districts, ESDs with represented employees, and charter schools will pay the wellness incentive, but it is included as a component within the funding rate. There is no additional charge.

Yes. The district pays the full funding rate for every eligible employee (when they become eligible) for the school year.

Employees can waive medical coverage but generally cannot waive other benefits for which they are eligible (dental, vision, basic life and AD&D insurance, and basic long-term disability insurance). However, dual enrollment rules do allow employees to waive SEBB medical, vision, and dental to enroll in Public Employees Benefits Board (PEBB) medical (with vision) and dental. 

No. SEBB organizations will pay the same funding rate regardless of which plan and which tier level employees select. The exception is employees who work between 180 and 630 hours and are offered SEBB benefits through locally negotiated agreements. For this group of employees only, the funding rate is different for each tier.

The insurance plan year for the SEBB Program is a calendar year, January 1 through December 31. Plans run from the beginning to the end of the insurance year.

The school year, as defined in RCW 28A.150.203(11), is September 1 through August 31. Employee benefits eligibility and coverage period are based on the school year.

No, but retirees are eligible to enroll in the PEBB Program.

No. The ACA requirements are more restrictive than state law RCW 41.05.740 (6)(d)(ii), and the SEB Board cannot make a requirement that is more restrictive than statute.

Yes. SEBB organizations are responsible for preparing Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Form 1095, providing copies of Form 1095 to certain current employees (e.g., those determined “full-time” for at least one month of the reporting year and/or those enrolled in self-insured coverage for at least one month of the report year), and certain former employees (e.g., retirees and COBRA enrollees enrolled in self-insured coverage for at least one month of the report year), and filing Form 1094 and copies of Form 1095 with the IRS. HCA provides SEBB organizations with prior-year medical enrollment data to support their preparation of Forms 1095 in early January each year. HCA provides data files that include all employee enrollment data, as well as former employee enrollment data for those former employees enrolled in self-insured coverage.  All Uniform Medical Plan coverage is “self-insured” coverage.

Note:  IRS Notice 2019-63 (Dec. 2, 2019) provided relief from certain aspects of the 2019 information-reporting requirements under Internal Revenue Code sections 6055 and 6056.