FAQs for school administrators

The following frequently asked questions (FAQs) help you understand the SEBB Program and how it affects your school district, educational service district, or charter school.

Can an employee cover a retired spouse or state-registered domestic partner who is enrolled in Medicare Part A and Part B?: Yes. The primary coverage would be through the SEBB Program on any claims the spouse or state-registered domestic partner might have. Medicare would be the secondary payer, and only pays if the SEBB plan pays less than Medicare would have paid.

Can dependent children be on two accounts?: No. SEBB coverage is limited to a single enrollment per individual. If an employee and their spouse or state-registered domestic partner both enroll in the SEBB Program, they must decide which account to use to cover their children.

Can dependents be enrolled in dental and vision if they’re not enrolled in medical?: Yes. Dependents must be enrolled in the same health plans as the subscriber. This applies whether the subscriber is enrolled in medical or waives it.

Can employees enroll using paper forms?: School employees are encouraged to enroll online with Benefits 24/7, using a computer, tablet, or smartphone. However, for those who cannot enroll online, paper enrollment forms are available from the benefits administrator.

Can employees or their dependents enroll in Apple Health?: Yes, you and your dependents can enroll in Apple Health (Medicaid) and in the SEBB Program. See the Washington Apple Health and SEBB Program fact sheet.

Can employees transfer benefits between districts?

Employees will have uninterrupted coverage when moving from one SEBB organization to another within the same month or a consecutive month, if the following conditions are satisfied:

The employee was eligible for the employer contribution toward SEBB benefits in the position they are leaving; and
The employee is anticipated to be eligible for the employer contribution toward SEBB benefits in their new position.

If they move to a new county, employees may need to change their medical plan. This creates a special open enrollment event.

Can employees waive SEBB coverage?

All eligible school employees must be enrolled in SEBB benefits.

An eligible employee can waive SEBB medical coverage when newly eligible or during the SEBB Program’s annual open enrollment if they are enrolled in other employer-based group medical insurance, a TRICARE plan, or Medicare.

Eligible employees who waive enrollment in medical must enroll in SEBB dental, vision, basic life and AD&D insurance, and employer-paid long-term disability insurance for themselves. However, dual enrollment prohibition rules do allow an employee to waive SEBB medical, vision, and dental to enroll in Public Employees Benefits Board (PEBB) medical (with vision) and dental (WAC 182-31-080).

If an employee waives SEBB medical coverage:

They cannot enroll their eligible dependents in SEBB medical coverage.
The premium surcharges will not apply to them.
They will be able to access SmartHealth, the online health and wellness portal but they will not be able to earn the incentives. Their spouse or state-registered domestic partner will not have SmartHealth access.
They can reenroll later during the annual open enrollment or if they have a qualifying special open enrollment event.

Reminder that eligible employees do not pay a premium for dental or vision coverage.

Can employer groups purchase benefits through the SEBB program?: Employer groups may purchase employee benefits through the School Employees Benefits Board (SEBB) Program starting January 1, 2024. Eligible groups include Tribal schools and employee organizations representing school employees (Chapter 41.05 RCW and WAC 182-30-5000).

Learn more about how to join the SEBB Program.

Can representatives of the Health Care Authority’s SEBB 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 SEBB and PEBB 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 SEBB 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 SEBB vendors who offer benefits in your area, and PEBB retiree vendors, when extending invitations to vendors.

Can SEBB organizations offer additional FSA, HSA, or DCAP benefits?: No. HCA maintains the authority to offer cafeteria plans (as identified in IRS Section 125). This means SEBB organizations cannot offer health savings accounts (HSAs), a flexible spending arrangement (FSA), or a dependent care assistance program (DCAP).

A SEBB organization also cannot make additional employer contributions to an HSA for employees who enroll in an IRS qualified high-deductible health plan. The employer contribution is limited to the annual amount authorized by the SEBB Program and deposited into the HSA account by HCA on behalf of the SEBB organization.