Retired Public Employees Council of WA Working to protect and enhance the pension and health care benefits of Washington retired state, county and local government employees
Health Insurance Open Enrollment (PEBB)
November 1-30, 2023
RPEC has worked extensively with the Health Care Authority (HCA), the Public Employees Benefits Board (PEBB), and the Statewide Health Insurance Benefits Advisors (SHIBA) to develop a comprehensive source of information for retirees who receive their Medicare insurance/non-Medicare insurance through PEBB. These resources have been designed to help guide you through the decision-making process to select the health insurance that best suits your needs.
The open enrollment period is November 1 through 30, 2023.
To help guide you through the process, we recommend reviewing the information provided in this order.
- View the three-part series “A Conversation with Tim Smolen” (see #1 below).
- Attend or view the HCA/RPEC Open Enrollment Webinar on October 20 (see #2 below).
- Attend an In-person Benefits Fair or a plan-specific HCA Open Enrollment Webinar (see #3 & 4 below).
- Visit the HCA Retiree Open Enrollment website here.
- Lastly, if you have any Medicare-related questions, reach out to the SHIBA advisors here.
#1 – Unraveling the Mysteries of Medicare & the PEBB Healthcare Plans: A Three-Part Conversation with Tim Smolen, Program Manager, SHIBA
A three-part series featuring a conversation with Tim Smolen, Program Manager of the Statewide Health Insurance Benefits Advisors (SHIBA). This webinar series has been developed to specifically help RPEC members, who earn their healthcare benefits from PEBB. The content is organized to help you better understand your choices among PEBB plans. RPEC’s Matt Groshong (Chapter 3 President and Chair of the RPEC Health Care Workgroup) is the host. The topics covered in each video can be found in the links below.
- View Part 1 video | View PowerPoint
- View Part 2 video | View PowerPoint
- View Part 3 video | View PowerPoint
For more information about SHIBA, visit the Office of the Insurance Commissioner’s SHIBA website.
#2 – HCA/RPEC Open Enrollment Webinar (PEBB)
HCA in concert with RPEC held an open enrollment informational webinar with Ellen Wolfhagen, Senior Account Manager at HCA. The webinar covers the Medicare plans offered by HCA/PEBB with in-depth information regarding each of the available plans.
View the Webinar here | View Webinar PowerPoint here | View the Chat (additional information here)
#3 – HCA In-person Benefits Fairs (PEBB)
HCA is offering in-person benefits fairs. The proposed dates include:
- November 1: Vancouver and Spokane
- November 2: Centralia and Cheney
- November 3: Olympia/Lacey and Pullman
- November 6: Bellingham and Pasco
- November 7: Everett and Yakima
- November 8: Shoreline/Seattle and Ellensburg
- November 9: Tacoma/Lakewood
- November 14: Port Angeles and Bremerton
For information on locations and times, visit the HCA In-person Benefits Fair page here.
#4 – Other HCA Open Enrollment Webinars (PEBB)
HCA is offering open enrollment webinars for their various plans.
- Uniform Medical Plan
- Kaiser Permanente WA (non-Medicare)
- Kaiser Permanente WA (Medicare)
- UnitedHealthcare (Medicare Advantage Prescription Drug)
For information on dates and times, visit the HCA Open Enrollments page here.
#5 – Contact the Plans
Phone numbers to contact the plans directly
| Kaiser NW Senior Advantage | 1-800-813-2000 |
| Kaiser WA Original Medicare and Medicare Advantage | 1-888-901-4600 |
| Premera Plan G | 1-800-817-3049 |
| UnitedHealthcare PEBB Balance and PEBB Complete | 1-855-873-3268 |
| Uniform Medical Plan Classic Medicare | 1-888-849-3681 |