Administering SEBB in Benefits 24/7

Benefits 24/7 launch rescheduled to January 2024

The launch date for Benefits 24/7 has been rescheduled to January 2024. The launch was scheduled to occur in June 2023.

HCA wanted to provide more time to ensure a successful launch. HCA took members’ and employers' feedback into account when determining the new launch date. 

The decision to launch in January considered several factors:

• There is a 10 to 15 percent turnover of school employees in August and September, which introduces unnecessary risk when implementing a new enrollment system. We want benefits administrators (BAs) to be able to focus on determining the eligibility of new school employees without also having to assist all school employees in understanding the system changes.
• During the SEBB annual open enrollment period in October and November of this year, we anticipate that employees will be more engaged with the enrollment system as they make changes to their health plans. Our goal is for employees to concentrate on selecting the plan that best suits their needs for 2024, rather than navigating a new enrollment system. Employees should continue to use SEBB My Account or enrollment forms as needed to make changes to their enrollment.

• After the open enrollment period, HCA staff and BAs will continue to enter enrollment forms in a timely manner to transfer new enrollments to the carriers. This data transfer enables the carriers to issue new ID cards and provide other communications to their employees before coverage begins on January 1. Introducing a new enrollment system during this crucial period could create a barrier to enrolling on time.

Please continue to use SEBB My Account for benefits administration.

Preparing for Benefits 24/7 go-live

The Benefits 24/7 online enrollment system is scheduled to go-live in January 2024 for both benefits administrators (BAs) and employees/subscribers.

Navigating to Benefits 24/7

When Benefits 24/7 goes live, BAs and employees can visit benefits247.hca.wa.gov to access Benefits 24/7. For quick and convenient access, save the URL as a bookmark or favorite in your browser (Google Chrome is the preferred/recommended browser), or select any of the links to Benefits 24/7 which will be provided on the HCA and SEBB BA websites. 

Logging in to Benefits 24/7

After navigating to Benefits 24/7, both BAs and employees will select the "Log in to Benefits 24/7" button under "Subscriber/Benefits administrator login".

Benefits 24/7 manuals

Chapter 1: Introduction to Benefits 24/7

• In Chapter 1 you'll find descriptions of common terms related to accounting and eligibility, instructions for how to log into Benefits 24/7, and an overview of the Administrative Dashboard located within the Benefits 24/7 system. 

Chapter 2: Managing Benefits 24/7

• In Chapter 2 you'll learn about how benefits administrator access is managed in Benefits 24/7, how to locate reports and files, where to find subscriber enrollment history, and how to troubleshoot employee access to Benefits 24/7.

Chapter 3: Managing employee accounts

• In Chapter 3 you'll learn about employee enrollment in Benefits 24/7, including how to manually add a new employee, what to do if you encounter dual enrollment, how to process dependent verification and special open enrollment (SOE) requests, and making changes to an employee's account. You'll also find information about transfers, terminations, reinstatements, and correcting errors. 

What training is available to BAs?

Outreach and Training offered two webinar trainings for benefits administrators (BAs). The first webinar was held on April 13, 2023, and the second webinar was held on April 27. Both webinars covered the changes associated with the new system. If you were unable to attend, recordings of each training are available on the Training materials and recordings webpage. 

​​​​To stay up to date with current training opportunities, please return to this webpage and the Training schedule webpage.

How will employees be informed about Benefits 24/7?

The SEBB Program is developing a variety of ways in which employees can learn about the Benefits 24/7 online enrollment system. 

HCA will have webpages dedicated to Benefits 24/7. The About Benefits 24/7 webpage is currently available while the "Help with Benefits 24/7" webpage is in development. 

In addition to the webpages, HCA will send the following communications to employees: 

• School employees Benefits 24/7 post card (mailed on June 5) 
• SEBB Intercom newsletter

Who is Benefits 24/7 for?

The new enrollment system will support PEBB and SEBB subscribers and benefits administrators (BAs).

What is changing?

Employers

Benefits 24/7 will allow BAs to manage all enrollment elections of their employees’ accounts instead of using SEBB My Account.

In addition to functions currently available through SEBB My Account, BAs will be able to:

• Report the first day of school easier.
• View employee’s enrollment history including, enrollments, special open enrollment requests, attestations, documents, dependent details, and login history.
• View wellness program participants.

Employees

School employees will be able to use Benefits 24/7 to:

• Request to enroll in or defer in PEBB retiree coverage.
• Request to enroll in SEBB Continuation Coverage.
• Make plan changes during open enrollment. 
• Make medical and dental plan choices during initial 31-day eligibility period.
• Waive medical coverage during initial 31-day eligibility period and during annual open enrollment.
• Submit special open enrollment requests. 
• Add or remove dependents during open enrollment and manage their enrollment throughout the year. 
• Upload documents to prove dependent eligibility.
• Make long-term disability insurance elections. 
• Use links to visit vendors’ websites for supplemental benefits (life insurance, Flexible Spending Arrangements, and Dependent Care Assistance Program). Note: FSAs and DCAP are only available to eligible employees of SEBB organizations (not employer groups). 

What is not changing?

Many operational processes will remain the same for benefits administrators (BAs). A few examples are noted below.

BAs will continue to:

• Access through SAW.
• Send and receive the following: demographic information, billing files, reports accessible, etc.
• Provide timely notification of eligibility and enrollment timelines to employees. 
• Review and enter enrollments and changes for new and existing employees.
• Have employees enroll in supplemental life and AD&D insurance using MetLife's MyBenefits portal or by submitting the enrollment form directly to MetLife using the submission instructions on the form. 
• Review submitted Special Open Enrollment (SOE) requests and approve or deny requests based on the SOE event.
• Send inquiries to Outreach and Training staff through HCA Support.

The SEBB Program will continue to:

• Use Pay1 as the HCA Accounting system of record.