PROPOSED RULES
Original Notice.
Preproposal statement of inquiry was filed as WSR 01-09-084.
Title of Rule: WAC 182-12-200 Retirees may change enrollment in approved PEBB health plans.
Purpose: Amend WAC 182-12-200, to include changes already made to WAC 182-12-132, which added the option for retirees to waive PEBB insurance while enrolled in other employer sponsored health coverage.
Statutory Authority for Adoption: Chapter 41.05 RCW.
Statute Being Implemented: RCW 41.05.160.
Summary: Proposed changes to WAC 182-12-200 will remove current inconsistency with WAC 182-12-132 which allows retirees to waive PEBB medical and dental coverage for themselves and dependents if they are covered under a comprehensive employer sponsored medical plan and reenroll in PEBB coverage within sixty days of loss of other coverage.
Reasons Supporting Proposal: Remove current inconsistency with WAC 182-12-132.
Name of Agency Personnel Responsible for Drafting and Implementation: Barbara Scott, Health Care Authority, 923-2642; and Enforcement: MaryAnne Lindeblad, Health Care Authority, 923-2640.
Name of Proponent: Health Care Authority, governmental.
Rule is not necessitated by federal law, federal or state court decision.
Explanation of Rule, its Purpose, and Anticipated Effects: WAC 182-12-200 outlines when a retiree may reenroll them and their eligible dependents in PEBB retiree medical and dental plan. Changes to WAC 182-12-132 adopted in October 2000 created inconsistency with this rule. Proposed language will remove that inconsistency and confusion it may have created for eligible members.
Proposal Changes the Following Existing Rules: Changes the timeframe for application from thirty-one days to sixty days. Removes requirement for other coverage to be PEBB or K-12 school district sponsored.
No small business economic impact statement has been prepared under chapter 19.85 RCW. Not required. The Joint Administrative Rules Review Committee has not requested the filing of a small business economic impact statement, and there will be no costs to small businesses.
RCW 34.05.328 does not apply to this rule adoption.
Hearing Location: Lacey Community Center, 6729 Pacific Avenue S.E., Lacey, WA, on July 24, 2001, at 1:00 p.m.
Assistance for Persons with Disabilities: Contact Nikki Johnson by July 17, 2001, TDD (888) 923-5622, or (360) 923-2805.
Submit Written Comments to: Barbara Scott, PEBB Program, 676 Woodland Square Loop S.E., Building B, Olympia, WA 98504, fax (360) 923-2602, by July 24, 2001.
Date of Intended Adoption: July 25, 2001.
June 6, 2001
Melodie H. Bankers
Rules Coordinator
OTS-4928.1
AMENDATORY SECTION(Amending WSR 97-21-127, filed 10/21/97,
effective 11/21/97)
WAC 182-12-200
Retirees may change enrollment in approved
PEBB health plans.
A retiree, whose spouse is enrolled as an
eligible employee in a PEBB or Washington state school
district-sponsored health plan, may defer enrollment in PEBB
retiree medical and dental plans and enroll in the spouse's PEBB
or school district-sponsored health plan. If a retiree defers
enrollment in a PEBB retiree medical plan, enrollment must also
be deferred for dental coverage. The retiree and eligible
dependents may subsequently enroll in a PEBB retiree medical, or
medical and dental, plan(s) if the retiree was continuously
enrolled under the spouse's PEBB or school district-sponsored
health coverage from the date the retiree was initially eligible
for retiree coverage:
(1) During any open enrollment period determined by the HCA; or
(2) Within ((31)) sixty days of the date the spouse ceases
to be enrolled in a PEBB or school district-sponsored health plan
as an eligible employee; or
(3) Within ((31)) sixty days of the date of the retiree's
loss of eligibility as a dependent under the spouse's PEBB or
school district-sponsored health plan.
[Statutory Authority: RCW 41.05.160. 97-21-127, 182-12-200, filed 10/21/97, effective 11/21/97. Statutory Authority: Chapter 41.05 RCW. 96-08-043, 182-12-200, filed 3/29/96, effective 4/29/96; Order 4-77, 182-12-200, filed 11/17/77.]