Wash. Admin. Code § 182-16-020
The following definitions apply throughout this chapter unless the context clearly indicates another meaning:
"Accidental death and dismemberment insurance" or "AD&D" means basic accidental death and dismemberment (AD&D) insurance paid for by the employing agency, as well as supplemental accidental death and dismemberment insurance offered to and paid for by employees for themselves and their dependents.
"Appellant" means a person who requests a brief adjudicative proceeding with the PEBB appeals unit about the action of the employing agency, the HCA, or its contracted vendor.
"Authority" or "HCA" means the Washington state health care authority.
"Board" means the public employees benefits board established under provisions of RCW 41.05.055.
"Brief adjudicative proceeding" means the process described in RCW 34.05.482 through 34.05.494 and in WAC 182-16-2000 through 182-16-2160.
"Business days" means all days except Saturdays, Sundays, and all state legal holidays as set forth in RCW 1.16.050.
"Calendar days" or "days" means all days including Saturdays, Sundays, and all state legal holidays as set forth in RCW 1.16.050.
"Continuance" means a change in the date or time of when a brief adjudicative proceeding or formal administrative hearing will occur.
"Contracted vendor" means any person, persons, or entity under contract or agreement with the HCA to provide goods or services for the provision or administration of PEBB benefits. The term "contracted vendor" includes subcontractors of the HCA and subcontractors of any person, persons, or entity under contract or agreement with the HCA that provide goods or services for the provision or administration of PEBB benefits.
"Denial" or "denial notice" means an action by, or communication from, an employing agency, contracted vendor, or the PEBB program that aggrieves a subscriber, a dependent, or an applicant, with regard to PEBB benefits including, but not limited to, actions or communications expressly designated as a "denial," "denial notice," or "cancellation notice."
"Dependent" means a person who meets eligibility requirements in WAC 182-12-260, except that "surviving spouses, state registered domestic partners, and dependent children" of emergency service personnel who are killed in the line of duty is defined in WAC 182-12-250.
"Dependent care assistance program" or "DCAP" means a benefit plan whereby state employees may pay for certain employment related dependent care with pretax dollars as provided in the salary reduction plan under chapter 41.05 RCW pursuant to 26 U.S.C. Sec. 129 or other sections of the Internal Revenue Code.
"Director" means the director of the authority.
"Dispositive motion" means a motion made to a presiding officer, reviewing officer, or hearing officer to decide a claim or case in favor of the moving party without further proceedings.
"Documents" means papers, letters, writings, electronic mail, electronic files, or other printed or written items.
"Employee" for the public employees benefits board program includes all employees of the state, whether or not covered by civil service; elected and appointed officials of the executive branch of government, including full-time members of boards, commissions, or committees; justices of the supreme court and judges of the court of appeals and the superior courts; and members of the state legislature. Pursuant to contractual agreement with the authority, "employee" may also include:
"Employer-based group medical" means group medical related to a current employment relationship. It does not include medical coverage available to retired employees, individual market medical coverage, or government-sponsored programs such as medicare or medicaid.
"Employer group" means:
* For the public employees benefits board as defined in RCW 41.05.011 (9)(a), those counties, municipalities, political subdivisions, the Washington health benefit exchange, tribal governments, and employee organizations representing state civil service employees obtaining employee benefits through a contractual agreement with the authority to participate in benefit plans developed by the public employees benefits board as described in WAC 182-08-245.
* For the school employees benefits board as defined in RCW 41.05.011 (9)(b), an employee organization representing school employees and a tribal school as defined in RCW 28A.715.010, obtaining school employee benefits through a contractual agreement with the authority to participate in benefit plans developed by the school employees benefits board as described in WAC 182-30-215.
"Employing agency" for the public employees benefits board program means a division, department, or separate agency of state government, including an institution of higher education; a county, municipality, or other political subdivision; and a tribal government covered by chapter 41.05 RCW.
"Enrollee" means a person who meets all eligibility requirements defined in chapter 182-12 WAC, who is enrolled in PEBB benefits, and for whom applicable premium payments have been made.
"File" or "filing" means the act of delivering documents to the office of the presiding officer, reviewing officer, or hearing officer. A document is considered filed when it is received by the authority or its designee. A document may be filed by one or more of the following:
* Personal delivery to the authority at Cherry Street Plaza, 626 8th Avenue S.E., Olympia, Washington 98501;
* First class, registered, or certified mail to the authority to the following mailing address:
Health Care Authority
Attn: PEBB Appeals Unit
P.O. Box 45504
Olympia, WA 98504-5504;
* Fax: 360-763-4709; or
* Submission online through the designated submission portal.
The identified methods are the exclusive methods for a document to be filed, and submission of documents by any other fashion to the authority shall not constitute filing unless agreed to in advance by the authority.
"Final order" means an order that is the final health care authority decision.
"Flexible spending arrangement" or "FSA" means a benefit plan whereby eligible state employees may reduce their salary before taxes to pay for medical expenses not reimbursed by insurance as provided in the salary reduction plan established under chapter 41.05 RCW pursuant to 26 U.S.C. Sec. 125 or other sections of the Internal Revenue Code.
"Formal administrative hearing" means a proceeding before a hearing officer that gives an appellant an opportunity for an evidentiary hearing as described in RCW 34.05.413 through 34.05.476 and WAC 182-16-3000 through 182-16-3200.
"HCA hearing representative" means a person who is authorized to represent the PEBB program in a formal administrative hearing. The person may be an assistant attorney general or authorized HCA employee.
"Health plan" means a plan offering medical, dental, vision, or any combination of these coverages, developed by the board and provided by a contracted vendor or self-insured plans administered by the HCA.
"Hearing officer" means an impartial decision maker who presides at a formal administrative hearing, and is:
* A director-designated HCA employee; or
* When the director has designated the office of administrative hearings (OAH) as a hearing body, an administrative law judge employed by the OAH.
"Institutions of higher education" means the state public research universities, the public regional universities, The Evergreen State College, the community and technical colleges, and the state board for community and technical colleges.
"Life insurance" means basic life insurance paid for by the employing agency, as well as supplemental life insurance or supplemental dependent life insurance offered to and paid for by employees for themselves and their dependents. Life insurance for eligible retirees includes retiree term life insurance offered to and paid for by retirees.
"Limited purpose flexible spending arrangement" or "limited purpose FSA" means a benefit plan whereby eligible state employees may reduce their salary before taxes to pay for dental and vision expenses not reimbursed by insurance as provided in the salary reduction plan established under chapter 41.05 RCW pursuant to 26 U.S.C. Sec. 125 or other sections of the Internal Revenue Code.
"Long-term disability insurance" or "LTD insurance" means employer-paid long-term disability insurance and employee-paid long-term disability insurance offered by the PEBB program.
"PEBB" means the public employees benefits board.
"PEBB benefits" means one or more insurance coverages or other employee benefits administered by the PEBB program within the health care authority.
"PEBB insurance coverage" means any health plan, life insurance, accidental death and dismemberment insurance, long-term disability (LTD) insurance, long-term care insurance, or property and casualty insurance administered as a PEBB benefit.
"PEBB program" means the program within the HCA that administers insurance and other benefits for eligible employees (as described in WAC 182-12-114), eligible retired employees (as described in WAC 182-12-171, 182-12-180, and 182-12-211), eligible survivors (as described in WAC 182-12-180, 182-12-250, and 182-12-265), eligible dependents (as described in WAC 182-12-250 and 182-12-260), and others as defined in RCW 41.05.011 or as described in RCW 41.05.080 (1)(a)(ii).
"Prehearing conference" means a proceeding scheduled and conducted by a hearing officer to address issues in preparation for a formal administrative hearing.
"Premium payment plan" means a benefit plan whereby public employees may pay their share of group health plan premiums with pretax dollars as provided in the salary reduction plan under chapter 41.05 RCW pursuant to 26 U.S.C. Sec. 125 or other sections of the Internal Revenue Code.
"Premium surcharge" means a payment required from a subscriber, in addition to the subscriber's medical premium contribution, due to an enrollee's tobacco use or an enrolled subscriber's spouse or state registered domestic partner choosing not to enroll in their employer-based group medical when:
* The spouse's or state registered domestic partner's share of the medical premiums is less than 95 percent of the additional cost an employee would be required to pay to enroll a spouse or state registered domestic partner in the public employees benefits board (PEBB) Uniform Medical Plan (UMP) Classic; and
* The benefits have an actuarial value of at least 95 percent of the actuarial value of PEBB UMP Classic benefits.
"Presiding officer" means an impartial decision maker who conducts a brief adjudicative proceeding and is a director-designated HCA employee.
"Public employee" has the same meaning as employee.
"Reviewing officer or officers" means one or more delegates from the director that consider appeals relating to the administration of PEBB benefits by the PEBB program.
"Salary reduction plan" means a benefit plan whereby public employees may agree to a reduction of salary on a pretax basis to participate in the dependent care assistance program, flexible spending arrangement, limited purpose flexible spending arrangement, or premium payment plan offered pursuant to 26 U.S.C. Sec. 125 or other sections of the Internal Revenue Code.
"School employee" means all employees of school districts and charter schools established under chapter 28A.710 RCW; represented employees of educational service districts; effective January 1, 2024, all employees of educational service districts; and effective January 1, 2024, pursuant to a contractual agreement with the authority, "school employee" may also include:
"Service" or "serve" means the process described in WAC 182-16-058.
"State agency" means an office, department, board, commission, institution, or other separate unit or division, however designated, of the state government. It includes the legislature, executive branch, and agencies or courts within the judicial branch, as well as institutions of higher education, and any unit of state government established by law.
"State registered domestic partner" has the same meaning as defined in RCW 26.60.020(1) and substantially equivalent legal unions from other jurisdictions as defined in RCW 26.60.090.
"Subscriber" means the employee, retiree, continuation coverage enrollee, retired employee or retired school employee continuing health plan coverage when their employer group ceases participation with the authority, or survivor who has been determined eligible by the PEBB program, PEBB participating employer group, or state agency, is enrolled in PEBB benefits, and is the individual to whom the PEBB program and contracted vendors will issue all notices, information, requests, and premium bills on behalf of an enrollee.
"Tobacco products" means any product made with or derived from tobacco that is intended for human consumption, including any component, part, or accessory of a tobacco product. This includes, but is not limited to, cigars, cigarettes, pipe tobacco, chewing tobacco, snuff, and other tobacco products. It does not include e-cigarettes or United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved quit aids.
"Tobacco use" means any use of tobacco products within the past two months. Tobacco use, however, does not include the religious or ceremonial use of tobacco.
"Tribal government" means an Indian tribal government as defined in Section 3(32) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), as amended, or an agency or instrumentality of the tribal government, that has government offices principally located in this state.
Wash. Admin. Code § 182-16-020