FAQs for PEBB benefits administrators

Can representatives of the Health Care Authority’s PEBB Program attend our employer-sponsored event or benefits fair?

As the ERB Outreach & Training team administers benefits and provides Open Enrollment training for more than 700 organizations across the PEBB and SEBB programs, we regret that we cannot support requests for each individual organization's Open Enrollment events due to resource constraints. However, we will continue to provide annual HCA-sponsored Open Enrollment events and training for the PEBB benefits administrator community.

If you would like to invite benefits carrier representatives to your event, we have compiled a list of vendor contacts for your convenience. To ensure fairness and impartiality, we request that you invite all PEBB vendors who offer benefits in your area, and PEBB retiree vendors, when extending invitations to vendors.

Do eligible employees who are on approved FMLA or PFML get to remain enrolled in benefits?

It depends. When an employee is approved for Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) or Paid Family Medical Leave (PFML) that is concurrent with FMLA, they remain eligible for the employer contribution and continue their benefits. Concurrent means that leave taken under approved PFML must follow and overlap with leave taken under approved FMLA.

PFML by itself (that is not concurrent with FMLA), does not allow an employee to continue benefits.

Additional guidance can be found in the C-1 and C-2 eligibility worksheets and on the Going on or returning from leave webpage for: 

Do employees need to use Benefits 24/7 to waive medical coverage?

Employees who want to waive medical coverage can do so in Benefits 24/7 or with paper forms. If they waive medical coverage within the PEBB Program timelines, they will not be automatically enrolled into a medical plan. If they do not waive medical coverage and they do not enroll in a medical plan within the PEBB Program's timelines, they will be automatically enrolled in UMP Classic and will be charged the $25 tobacco use premium surcharge. They will also be enrolled in the Uniform Dental plan, MetLife basic life insurance, MetLife basic accidental death and dismemberment insurance, and The Standard long-term disability insurance.