On April 1, 2025, the SEBB Appeals Unit launched an all-new online appeals portal. Employees can use this secure online portal to request a brief adjudicative proceeding (a simplified legal hearing, also referred to as an appeal) of an employer decision or a SEBB Program decision and have it immediately go to the SEBB Appeals Unit.  

The online appeal portal has advantages over the paper form—it’s a fast, secure, paperless way to submit an appeal. Requests are sent instantly to the SEBB Appeals Unit, reducing overall processing and wait times. Appellants can also check the status of their requests online instead of having to call or wait for acknowledgment letters. 

Circumstances when this could apply

Employee disagrees with an employer decision:

• The employee must first appeal to their employer using the paper form. If the employee does not agree with the employer's final decision and wishes to appeal to the SEBB Program using the online portal, the employee must upload a copy of the employer’s decision to the portal. For more information, visit the SEBB benefits administrators appeals process webpage. 

Employee disagrees with a decision from the SEBB Program:

• The employee must follow the appeal instructions on the decision letter they received from the SEBB Program.

Instructions for employees on how to access and use the appeals portal 

1. From the HCA Support home page, select “Public Inquiry” and log in to Secure Access Washington (SAW). If you do not have a SAW account, you will need to create one.  
2. Once logged in, select “Make A Request” and choose “Benefits Appeal Request.” You should see a screen asking you to choose the primary account holder.  
3. Select the applicable option. Next, select your relationship to the appellant. Once you do this, the appeal form will populate additional selections that mirror the paper form. 

BA guidelines for entering employee enrollments

We've observed some instances where a Benefits Administrator (BA) may enter employee enrollments into Benefits 24/7 using their own BA login without obtaining a signed paper form from the employee. While this might seem efficient, it is not advisable and could expose your organization to unnecessary risk.

Please carefully follow these guidelines:

• Do not use your BA login to enter enrollments in Benefits 24/7 for employees unless you have a signed paper form from the employee on file. Without this documentation, there is no official record that the employee authorized the benefit elections.
• When assisting employees with enrollments, ensure that either you or the employee is logged into the employee's own account.

Why is this important?

Entering enrollments without a proper record places your organization at risk. In cases of disputes, the absence of verified employee authorization could result in financial liabilities, compliance issues, or audit findings.

Thank you for your attention to this matter. For further clarification or assistance, please reach out to our Outreach & Training team via HCA Support or call 1-800-700-1555.