School Employee Benefits 1/20
From the Washington State Health Care Authority:
A healthy change is coming for all employees in Washington’s K-12 school districts, educational service districts, and charter schools. The School Employees Benefits Board (SEBB) Program will administer health insurance and other benefits for eligible school employees and their dependents.
Open enrollment for the SEBB Program is set for October 1 through November 15, 2019. Benefit coverage will begin January 1, 2020.
In the meantime, we are continuing to implement this benefit program. As benefit information becomes available, we will share details on these pages.
Learn more about the SEBB program.
A healthy change is coming for all employees in Washington’s K-12 school districts, educational service districts, and charter schools. The School Employees Benefits Board (SEBB) Program will administer health insurance and other benefits for eligible school employees and their dependents.
Open enrollment for the SEBB Program is set for October 1 through November 15, 2019. Benefit coverage will begin January 1, 2020.
In the meantime, we are continuing to implement this benefit program. As benefit information becomes available, we will share details on these pages.
Learn more about the SEBB program.
SEBB eligibility doesn’t have to be complicated
Hearing your benefits are changing can be scary, and the news probably brings with it more questions than answers.
If you’re like most employees, a major issue is simply whether you’ll be eligible to receive benefits. With the School Employees Benefits Board (SEBB) Program, answering that question doesn’t need to be a headache.
Simple rule: 630 hoursThe SEBB Program will administer health insurance and other benefits for the employees and dependents of Washington State’s more than 300 school districts, educational service districts, and charter schools, starting in January 2020. Qualifying for SEBB benefits is simple: Any school employee anticipated to work 630 hours a year is eligible. It’s the same whether you’re full-time or part-time, certificated or classified, instructional or administrative, from a little district or a big one.
Special circumstancesAnd if that doesn’t answer the question, there are extra qualifiers:
Covering your dependentsYou can enroll your spouse or state-registered domestic partner. You can also cover your children as dependents until their 26th birthday, and longer if they have a qualifying disability. Read the details.
Simplified premiumsOnce you’re eligible, you qualify for the same monthly premiums as everyone else, including the superintendent, whether you’re full-time or part-time. The premiums for a plan covering the subscriber, a spouse/state-registered domestic partner, and any children won’t be more than three times the amount of a subscriber-only plan. (Read the details, and see an example on the SEBB Program FAQ webpage.)
It’s new, but it’s not scary. It’s the SEBB Program.
Hearing your benefits are changing can be scary, and the news probably brings with it more questions than answers.
If you’re like most employees, a major issue is simply whether you’ll be eligible to receive benefits. With the School Employees Benefits Board (SEBB) Program, answering that question doesn’t need to be a headache.
Simple rule: 630 hoursThe SEBB Program will administer health insurance and other benefits for the employees and dependents of Washington State’s more than 300 school districts, educational service districts, and charter schools, starting in January 2020. Qualifying for SEBB benefits is simple: Any school employee anticipated to work 630 hours a year is eligible. It’s the same whether you’re full-time or part-time, certificated or classified, instructional or administrative, from a little district or a big one.
Special circumstancesAnd if that doesn’t answer the question, there are extra qualifiers:
- If you’re hired mid-year, you can qualify.
- If you’re anticipated to work 630 hours after a change in your schedule, you can qualify.
- If you’re expected to work 17.5 paid hours in six of your last eight weeks, and anticipated to work 630 hours the next year, you can qualify.
Covering your dependentsYou can enroll your spouse or state-registered domestic partner. You can also cover your children as dependents until their 26th birthday, and longer if they have a qualifying disability. Read the details.
Simplified premiumsOnce you’re eligible, you qualify for the same monthly premiums as everyone else, including the superintendent, whether you’re full-time or part-time. The premiums for a plan covering the subscriber, a spouse/state-registered domestic partner, and any children won’t be more than three times the amount of a subscriber-only plan. (Read the details, and see an example on the SEBB Program FAQ webpage.)
It’s new, but it’s not scary. It’s the SEBB Program.
With $900 million price tag, Washington state will soon take over all school employee health care plans
Originally published January 2, 2019 at 5:00 am Updated January 3, 2019 at 5:41 am
A lot of behind-the-scenes work needs to happen before workers and their families — as many as 300,000 individuals — know what monthly premiums they can expect to pay.
By Neal Morton
Seattle Times staff reporter
Heads up, teachers. And school-bus drivers and principals and attendance clerks and — well, just about anyone who works for a public school in Washington state.
Big changes are coming to your health benefits once the state takes control of them starting next January. But a lot of behind-the-scenes work needs to happen before those workers and their families — as many as 300,000 individuals — even know what monthly premiums they can expect to pay once open enrollment starts this fall.
Individual changes in health care costs will depend on how much employees pay right now in their district-run plan and whether they cover any dependents.
Read the full story...
Originally published January 2, 2019 at 5:00 am Updated January 3, 2019 at 5:41 am
A lot of behind-the-scenes work needs to happen before workers and their families — as many as 300,000 individuals — know what monthly premiums they can expect to pay.
By Neal Morton
Seattle Times staff reporter
Heads up, teachers. And school-bus drivers and principals and attendance clerks and — well, just about anyone who works for a public school in Washington state.
Big changes are coming to your health benefits once the state takes control of them starting next January. But a lot of behind-the-scenes work needs to happen before those workers and their families — as many as 300,000 individuals — even know what monthly premiums they can expect to pay once open enrollment starts this fall.
Individual changes in health care costs will depend on how much employees pay right now in their district-run plan and whether they cover any dependents.
Read the full story...
Click the image to visit the website
The following text is from the Washington Health Benefit Exchange website:
"The Washington Health Benefit Exchange was created in state statute in 2011 as a “public-private partnership” separate and distinct from the state. The Exchange is responsible for the creation of Washington Healthplanfinder, an easily accessible, online marketplace for individuals, families and small businesses to find, compare and enroll in qualified health insurance plans. Starting October 1, 2013, Washington Healthplanfinder will offer Washington State residents:
"The Washington Health Benefit Exchange was created in state statute in 2011 as a “public-private partnership” separate and distinct from the state. The Exchange is responsible for the creation of Washington Healthplanfinder, an easily accessible, online marketplace for individuals, families and small businesses to find, compare and enroll in qualified health insurance plans. Starting October 1, 2013, Washington Healthplanfinder will offer Washington State residents:
- Apples-to-apples comparisons of Qualified Health Plans (QHP)
- Tax credits or financial help to pay for copays and premiums
- Expert customer support online, by phone or in-person through a local
organization, insurance broker or agent.
The Exchange complies with open public meetings and public disclosure guidelines, but is not subject to other laws that govern state agencies. The Exchange initially started in the Washington State Health Care Authority (HCA) and has transitioned to an independent organization. We work in close coordination with our state agency partners, including the Health Care Authority (Medicaid), Office of the Insurance Commissioner and the Department of Social and Health Services."
Click the image to visit the website