WSR 20-16-065
PERMANENT RULES
HEALTH CARE AUTHORITY
(School Employees Benefits Board)
[Admin #2020-02—Filed July 28, 2020, 4:42 p.m., effective August 28, 2020]
Effective Date of Rule: Thirty-one days after filing.
Purpose: The purpose is to amend WAC 182-30-130 to support the school employees benefits board (SEBB) program.
Implement SEBB policy resolutions and make technical amendments: Amended WAC 182-30-130 to clarify that a SEBB organization, engaging in local negotiations regarding SEBB benefits eligibility criteria, must establish a threshold of anticipated work hours no less than one hundred eighty hours but less than the minimum hours to meet SEBB eligibility under WAC 182-31-040 within a school year.
Citation of Rules Affected by this Order: Amending WAC 182-30-130.
Other Authority: SEBB Policy Resolutions 2020-04.
Adopted under notice filed as WSR 20-13-071 on June 16, 2020.
Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Comply with Federal Statute: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Federal Rules or Standards: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Recently Enacted State Statutes: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted at the Request of a Nongovernmental Entity: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted on the Agency's own Initiative: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Clarify, Streamline, or Reform Agency Procedures: New 0, Amended 1, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted using Negotiated Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Pilot Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Other Alternative Rule Making: New 0, Amended 1, Repealed 0.
Date Adopted: July 28, 2020.
Wendy Barcus
Rules Coordinator
AMENDATORY SECTION(Amending WSR 19-14-093, filed 7/1/19, effective 8/1/19)
WAC 182-30-130What are the requirements for a school employees benefits board (SEBB) organization engaging in local negotiations regarding SEBB benefits eligibility criteria?
This section describes the terms and conditions for a school employees benefits board (SEBB) organization that is engaging in local negotiations regarding eligibility for school employees as described in RCW
41.05.740 (6)(e).
(1) A SEBB organization must provide a current ratified collective bargaining agreement (CBA) and information on all eligible school employees under the CBA to the health care authority (HCA) by the start of the school year.
(2) A SEBB organization must offer all of, and only, the following SEBB benefits to employees and their dependents:
(a) Medical (includes the wellness incentive);
(b) Dental;
(c) Vision;
(d) Basic life;
(e) Basic accidental death and dismemberment (AD&D) insurance.
(3) A SEBB organization must provide an employer contribution as described below:
(a) The subscriber-only employer medical contribution (EMC) amount for school employees eligible under RCW
41.05.740 (6)(d) multiplied by the premium tier ratio associated with the enrollment tier selected by the school employee;
(b) One hundred percent of the cost for the school employee dental plan multiplied by the enrollment tier selected by the school employee;
(c) One hundred percent of the cost for the school employee vision plan multiplied by the enrollment tier selected by the school employee;
(d) One hundred percent of the cost for basic life and accidental death and dismemberment (AD&D) insurance;
(e) One hundred percent of the cost of the administrative fee charged by the HCA; and
(f) One hundred percent of the monthly K-12 remittance for deposit in the retired school employees' subsidy account.
(4) A SEBB organization providing SEBB benefits as described in this section may do so by group as described in (a) through (d) of this subsection:
(a) The entire SEBB organization;
(b) A entire collective bargaining unit;
(c) A group containing all nonrepresented school employees; or
(d) A combination of (b) and (c) of this subsection.
(5) A SEBB organization must establish a threshold of anticipated work hours no less than one hundred eighty hours ((and no more))but less than the minimum hours to meet SEBB eligibility under WAC 182-31-040 within a school year.
(6) All of the rules in chapters 182-30, 182-31, and 182-32 WAC apply, except for all rules governing SEBB benefits that are not available to school employees whose eligibility is established under this section. The following benefits are not available to school employees whose eligibility is established under this section:
(a) Long-term disability (LTD);
(b) Medical flexible spending arrangement (FSA);
(c) Dependent care assistance program (DCAP); and
(d) Supplemental life insurance.
(7) If a school employee waives medical under this section, there is no requirement to send the employer contribution to the HCA as required in WAC 182-30-070(4).
(8) Eligibility determinations must align with the SEBB program's status as a governmental plan under Section 3(32) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) as amended. This means the SEBB organization may only consider school employees whose services are substantially all in the performance of essential governmental functions, but not in the performance of commercial activities, whether or not those activities qualify as essential governmental functions to be eligible.
(9) A SEBB organization providing SEBB benefits to a group of school employees under this section must notify the SEBB program each time the CBA is renegotiated.