Prescription reminders for employees on Regence medical plans
Please note the following pharmacy updates and reminders for employees and family members enrolled in the KingCare and KingCare Select (Regence) medical plans.
Consent now required for mail-order prescriptions. You can get a 90-day supply of many medications delivered to your home for the price of two monthly copays from Costco Mail Order Pharmacy. Washington state law (RCW 48.200.310), designed to increase transparency and protect consumers, became effective Jan. 1, 2026. In response, Costco now requires active verbal consent from a member before filling a mail-order prescription. You will receive either a text message or a phone call, at the number you provided in your Costco Mail Order Pharmacy account, advising you that consent is needed to fill your order. You must call Costco Mail Order Pharmacy at 800-607-6861 and provide verbal consent for your mail order to proceed.
Pick up a 90-day supply of medication at a local pharmacy. You can pick up a 90-day supply of maintenance medications at many retail pharmacy stores for the cost of two monthly copays. A 90-day supply is offered by most pharmacies except CVS and Walgreens, which limit purchases to 30-day supplies.
Grace period ends April 30, 2026, for non-covered medications and medications requiring preauthorization. A few medications previously covered by the CVS drug formulary are not covered under the Ventegra Premium Formulary or require a new preauthorization. King County approved coverage of these medications during a four-month grace period that ends April 30, 2026.
In late February, Ventegra mailed a letter to impacted employees and family members notifying them to take action before April 30 to ensure coverage of medications that meet their needs. If you have questions about your prescription coverage, alternative drugs, or the prior authorization process, call Ventegra Customer Care at 844-571-2982.
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Facilities Management recognizes Women’s History Month
Crossposted from the DES Express
FMD would like to recognize and sincerely thank all women in FMD.
Your collective efforts keep King County’s buildings safe and clean, ensure bills are paid, and continuous improvements are made as well as many more impactful contributions you all make across the division.
Please take a moment to watch this video, which highlights the experiences of four FMD women leaders and shares what Women’s History Month means to them.
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Work moving forward at new RASKC facility
Renovations to the new Regional Animal Services of King County (RASKC) shelter location in Kent continue to move ahead on schedule.
On April 2, members of the RASKC team met on-site with the county’s Facilities Management Division (FMD) and the design team to look at draft floorplans and get an idea of what the flow through the building will look like. They were joined by Winnie, a RASKC alumnus dog, who has become the project’s unofficial mascot. Read more.
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Sea26: Information at your fingertips as Metro launches ‘SEA26 Soccer’ page
Crossposted from Metro Matters
Once upon a time, you could tell a tourist by the number of brochures they were juggling in their hands. The brochures are still there, giving you information on what you want to see and how you can get there, but instead of juggling sheets of paper, all you need is your smartphone!
As Seattle gets ready to host soccer matches this summer, Metro has just introduced an easy and convenient way to get the information you need to use transit to get around the region.
Introducing Metro’s SEA26 Soccer page! Read more.
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Discounts available for Seattle Children’s Theatre
King County employees can now take advantage of discounted opportunities at the Seattle Children’s Theatre.
Receive 20% off each ticket for performances this season. Performances include Robin Hood and Billy Goats Gruff and Other Tales. Use discount code KING20. Purchase tickets here.
Receive 15% off for upcoming summer camps held at Seattle Children’s Theatre offering engaging, hands-on experiences for young people to build confidence, creativity, and storytelling skills in a fun and supportive environment. Excludes partnership camps held offsite. Use discount code KING15. View available summer camps here.
See all available discounts on the Employee Discount intranet page.
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DCHS crisis services are available 24/7
King County voters approved the Crisis Care Centers Levy in 2023. The Department of Community and Human Services (DCHS) initiative is making it easier for everyone in King County to get the specialized care they need in a moment of crisis, which includes having the 988 crisis line to call or text, trained crisis teams to respond in-person, a network of five Crisis Care Centers to go, and post-crisis teams to follow up.
The first Crisis Care Center, Connections Kirkland, is now open. The next Crisis Care Center will open in Seattle, and future centers in the South and East King County, as well as a dedicated center for youth will open in the coming years.
This Mental Health Awareness Month, we want everyone in King County to know that we have more places open for people to get mental health care, more teams ready to respond in-person, and more capacity for routine appointments and support,” said Dr. Susan McLaughlin, Director, DCHS. “This recent progress transforming our behavioral health care system wouldn’t be possible without the steadfast work and dedication of our Behavioral Health and Recovery Division, the Crisis Care Centers Levy team, and all our community partners.”
Anyone in King County, including youth, can walk into any Crisis Care Center for urgent mental health and substance use care. Young people who need a higher level of care will be transferred to the youth Crisis Care Center for treatment once it opens.
The Crisis Care Centers initiative is also investing to expand existing crisis services, including 988 and crisis response teams, create more longer-term residential treatment capacity and strengthen the community behavioral health workforce.
Click below to meet the providers and teams who are available 24/7 and learn about the early progress King County has made expanding local crisis services.
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April is Records and Information Management Month
King County Executive Girmay Zahilay has proclaimed April as Records and Information Management Month. This month-long observance promotes record keeping best practices, provides awareness of the records management profession, and highlights the benefits of proper records and information management on our daily operations.
Rapid technological changes have transformed how King County conducts business, creating both challenges and opportunities for managing records and ensuring records remain accessible for as long as needed to support county business and comply with the law. King County employees create and receive thousands of records every day that are necessary for the delivery of essential county services and programs. As public servants, each of us has a duty to properly manage these records.
The proper management of records and information lowers risks for King County and helps each of us find the information needed to do our jobs. It directly aligns with the “Better Government” pillar of Executive Zahilay’s 4Bs framework. It also supports various other countywide initiatives and values such as Lean/Continuous Improvement, Equity and Racial and Social Justice, and a commitment to transparency.
What you can do
There are many ways that all employees can contribute to good records management:
- Take online Basic Records Management training (15 minutes)
- File inactive electronic records to Content Manager
- Delete transitory records
- Organize/sort records in Outlook or OneDrive
- Review your agency’s records retention schedule
- Review your agency’s standard work documentation (Standard Operating Procedures / SOPs) to ensure that records management steps are captured.
For more information, reach out to the County Records and Information Management Program (CRIMP) for more information on how to manage county records and information.
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Celebrating Animal Care and Control Appreciation Week, April 12-18
Crossposted from the DES Express
You might remember the zebras that escaped while en route to Montana. Who helped corral them? Animal Control Officers from RASKC, along with others. They also help wrangle livestock and investigate reports of neglect, cruelty, and animal bites. In recognition of Animal Care and Control Appreciation Week (April 12-18), learn what Animal Control Officers (ACOs) and other employees at Regional Animal Services do and how they help the community.
A cadre of employees supports ACOs’ work and the animals they care for:
- Animal Care Technicians provide the daily care and assessments animals need while working with members of the public who are looking to adopt.
- Call takers serve as the first point of contact for the community, routing emergency and non-emergency calls to ensure people and animals get the help they need.
- Veterinary clinic staff provide medical treatment and preventative care such as spaying and neutering to help reduce pet overpopulation.
- Coordinators and administrative staff respond to community inquiries, manage campaigns to support pet licensing and outreach, and research ways to place animals with rescue partners and foster homes.
RASKC staff rely on the collaborative efforts of volunteers, foster families, and partner organizations to make this important work possible. RASKC is grateful for their support. You, too, can support RASKC by donating, volunteering or adopting a pet. Thank you!
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Recognizing Metro’s Operators of the Month, January – February 2026
Crossposted from Metro Matters
They play the sax and swim. Collect coins and travel. Garden and produce music. For the people who ride with them they are: “professional and respectful to all the passengers,” treated a passenger who collapsed on the bus with “with so much kindness and dignity” and after helping a rider recover their wallet, had the rider say: “I can’t tell you how much I appreciate his help!”
They’re operators with nearly two centuries of transit driving experience who enjoy meeting with their riders and giving back to their communities.
Meet your Operators of the Month for January and February 2026.
We love to hear from our riders about their operators! Please share your comments about our drivers. Interested in becoming a transit operator? Visit “Start your Metro career” to explore well-paying positions with full benefits and a pension in transit operations, trades, rail operations, customer information and countless other fields. Read more.
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DCHS hits key milestones in response to audit, strengthening oversight and fiscal stewardship
The Department of Community and Human Services (DCHS) has made significant progress in their response to last summer’s audit.
DCHS recently completed one of the 10 audit recommendations and is actively making progress on all nine others. This includes launching an annual Anti-Fraud Training for all departmental staff, implementing new policies and procedures around contract management, and offering new contract and fiscal management trainings to contracted providers. Additionally, DCHS completed a risk assessment of the hybrid payment model and is boosting collaboration with Public Health – Seattle & King County.
This progress is a testament to DCHS’ commitment to being stronger financial stewards of public funds. Learn more about all the work DCHS has accomplished by visiting the department’s Fiscal Stewardship webpage.
Employee News 