Qualifying employees received a $200 employer-paid CBA FSA contribution

Washington State Health Care Authority sent this bulletin at 02/02/2026 02:30 PM PST

February 2, 2026

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Qualifying employees received a $200 employer-paid CBA FSA contribution

In January, qualifying SEBB Program employee subscribers whose annual rate of pay was $40,000 or less as of June 30, 2025 may have received a $200 flexible spending arrangement (FSA) contribution. This contribution was negotiated in the collective bargaining agreement (CBA), but employees do not need to be in the union to qualify. This CBA FSA contribution was not deducted from employees’ paychecks.

How employees were notified

Last fall in the October Intercom newsletter, employees were first informed about this benefit and who may qualify.

The week of January 12, Navia Benefit Solutions (the FSA administrator) mailed a welcome letter to those who qualified for the contribution. Following that letter, recipients may also get a debit card in an unmarked envelope. They can use this debit card to spend their FSA funds on eligible expenses.

Confirmation letter error

Around January 22, some employees also received a confirmation letter from Navia. This confirmation letter was mailed in error and was only meant for recipients who actively enrolled in an FSA during annual open enrollment. The letter may cause confusion for those who only received the CBA FSA contribution. Navia plans to mail a letter to these employees to inform them of the error and correctly confirm their enrollment in the CBA FSA. We will send a follow-up message to you before that mailing and provide a copy of the letter.

Find out who qualified

A list of recipients has been uploaded to Benefits 24/7 under your organization’s Data Depot. If you don’t find the file in your Data Depot, then no one from your organization received these funds.

Employees may opt out of this benefit

Internal Revenue Service (IRS) rules do not allow a person to have both an FSA and an HSA at the same time because both are tax-preferred benefits. If an employee was awarded the CBA FSA and their spouse is enrolled in an HDHP with an HSA, the employee can request to cancel this benefit. Either you or the employee can do this by contacting Navia. If they get a debit card from Navia, please advise them to cut it up and throw it away.

Requirements to qualify

To be eligible to receive this contribution, employees must meet the following criteria:

They are employed in a SEBB benefits-eligible position on January 1, 2026.
Their annual earnable compensation, as defined in Chapter 41.32 (TRS) or 41.35 (SERS) RCW, did not exceed $40,000 as of June 30 of the previous fiscal year.
They or their spouse are not enrolled in a high-deductible health plan (HDHP) with a health savings account (HSA).
They meet the other eligibility criteria as described in the Health Care Coalition Agreement, including:
- They are enrolled in a medical plan offered by the SEBB Program that is not an HDHP with an HSA.
- They have not waived SEBB Program enrollment.

For questions about this benefit

To learn more about this benefit we encourage you to check out the SEBB CBA FSA Toolkit, which you can use to help your employees if they come to you with questions.

For FSA eligibility and enrollment questions, you can contact us through HCA Support. An HCA Support user guide is available to help you log in for the first time.

For questions about using the FSA, email Navia or call their dedicated line for benefit administrators at 425-452-3488. Do not provide this contact information to employees. Please direct employees to visit Navia’s website at sebb.naviabenefits.com, call 800-669-3539, or email customerservice@naviabenefits.com.

About the Health Care Authority (HCA)

Functioning as both the state's largest health care purchaser and its behavioral health authority, the Washington State Health Care Authority (HCA) is a leader in ensuring Washington residents have the opportunity to be as healthy as possible.

There are three pillars of our work: Apple Health (Medicaid); the Public Employees Benefits Board (PEBB) and School Employees Benefits Board (SEBB) programs; and behavioral health and recovery. Under these pillars, HCA purchases health care, including behavioral health treatment for more than 2.7 million Washington residents and provides behavioral health prevention, crisis, and recovery supports to all Washington residents.

Please do not reply directly to this message. For more information, visit the HCA website, where you'll also find contact information.

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Nondiscrimination

The Washington State Health Care Authority (HCA) complies with all applicable federal and Washington state civil rights laws and is committed to providing equal access to our services. Visit HCA’s website to view complete nondiscrimination statements.

Qualifying employees received a $200 employer-paid CBA FSA contribution

Qualifying employees received a $200 employer-paid CBA FSA contribution

How employees were notified

Confirmation letter error

Find out who qualified

Employees may opt out of this benefit

Requirements to qualify

For questions about this benefit

Thank you for subscribing to receive notices from Outreach and Training

About the Health Care Authority (HCA)

Disclosure notice

Nondiscrimination