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As a UW employee who is eligible for Public Employee Benefits Board (PEBB) benefits, you are allowed to make changes to your medical and dental plan choices during the annual open enrollment period. The State's healthcare open enrollment period typically runs through the entire month of November with specific dates announced by the Health Care Authority in mid-summer.
During this time, you may also enroll or re-enroll in a flexible spending account (FSA)—unless you elect a consumer-directed health plan with a health savings account (CDHP-HSA). You can also enroll or re-enroll in the Dependent Care Assistance Program (DCAP). These are optional pre-tax savings programs available to you.
Medical and dental plan benefits and premiums change yearly. Open enrollment is a good time to evaluate your health insurance plans and decide whether to make a change.
Some life circumstances may be considered a "qualifying life event," which may trigger a Special Open Enrollment opportunity allowing you to make insurance plan changes outside of the fall open enrollment.
If you are satisfied with your current health plan and it will be offered next year, you do not need to do anything and your plan elections will remain the same. However, you must change your plan enrollment if any of the following circumstances apply to you:
Note: Per WAC 182-12-262, you are required to notify the UW of changes in dependent eligibility within 60 days of the date in which your dependent is no longer eligible.
At their July 25 meeting, the state's Public Employees Benefits Board (PEBB) voted to approve changes to state employees' monthly premiums and cost-sharing in 2013. Cost-sharing refers to the member's annual deductible, annual out-of-pocket limit, coinsurance, or copay. All changes take effect January 1, 2013.
Running concurrently with the PEBB open enrollment, are two programs that can save you pre-tax dollars—the Flexible Spending Account (FSA) and the Dependent Care Assistance Program (DCAP). You can save money on a pre-tax basis by participating in one or both of these programs!
Remember, whether you are a current or new participant, you must re-enroll each year if you wish to continue participating in either of these programs.
FSA allows you to take untaxed salary and place it in a health care savings account to pay for eligible unreimbursed medical and dental expenses such as co-pays, deductibles and approved services not covered by your insurance plan. Note: you cannot enroll in an FSA if you enroll in a consumer-directed health plan with a health savings account (CDHP-HSA). Learn more.
DCAP allows employees to take a deduction from pay for eligible dependent care expenses before taxes are calculated. Learn more.
Review your current enrollment in one of two ways:
Beginning on the first day of open enrollment, UW employees can use the E-Coverage site to change insurance plans or providers. E-Coverage has the following advantages:
To add or reinstate a dependent who is not currently enrolled on your insurance plan, you must submit a completed Employee Enrollment/Change form by midnight on the last day of open enrollment. Valid dependent verification documentation must be included with the form for the requested change to be processed.
While you cannot add a dependent online, but you may use one of these online options to review your current coverage:
Whether you are a first-time or returning participant of a PEBB flexible spending account, you must re-enroll each year if you wish to participate. Enter ASI Enrollment Portal.
Whether you are a first-time or returning participant of the Dependent Care Assistance Program, you must re-enroll each year if you wish to participate. Enter ASI Enrollment Portal.
To enroll your dependent, you must submit the following verification documents in addition to an Employee Medical & Dental Enrollment/Change Form. (Note: Documents written in a foreign language must first be officially translated and notarized before including with this form.)
A dependent is defined as a spouse, Washington state‐registered domestic partner, and children.
Certificate of state-registered domestic partnership or registration card from the Washington Secretary of State.
UW employees who are foreign nationals and who cannot submit the required dependent documentation (above) may instead submit copies of their J-1 or J-2 visas that have been submitted to the Health Care Authority (HCA) for their review and approval. Only visas reviewed and approved by the HCA can be accepted by the UW. For assistance, please contact the HCA at 1-800-200-1004 or the Benefits Office at 206-543-2800.
Disclaimer: The Qualifying Life Event(s) shown above highlights benefit options arising from a change in family status. It does not substitute for official plan documents. If there is a conflict between the information on this site and an official plan document, the official plan document will govern. Plan availability and eligibility may change depending on your employment status and/or actions of the Washington State Health Care Authority.
Changing Enrollment
Obtaining Vital Records from Foreign Countries
Most foreign countries document births, marriages, and deaths that occur within their boundaries. If you need a copy of a foreign record, contact the embassy or the nearest United States consulate in the country in which the marriage, birth, adoption, or death occurred.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention provides a helpful resource for where to write for a vital record.