Health Insurance Bills Jump 22% in WA But People Aren't Quitting

A Seattle juice bar owner named Alicia Anderson Pieri says her workers' premiums have climbed about twenty percent since June. That means each employee has to put in an extra hour every two weeks just to cover the increase. Small businesses with fewer than fifty staff use the state exchange for coverage. Their rates are rising sixteen point seven percent. The hikes match what is happening across the country.

Open enrollment kicked off Sunday for Washingtonians who buy plans through the state marketplace. About two hundred sixty thousand people are currently signed up. That number is way higher than officials predicted. They thought eighty thousand might walk away after Congress let federal subsidies expire. Those subsidies used to save enrollees over a thousand dollars a year on average. Every state except New Mexico saw enrollment drop this year according to KFF.

The actual drop was only about fifteen thousand from a peak of two hundred seventy five thousand. Earlier in the year the decline looked steeper at thirty six thousand five hundred. Insurance Commissioner Patty Kuderer says an emergency rule from her office helped maximize other tax credits. Washington was one of the few states to take that step. The state's own Cascade Care Savings program also softened the blow.

Meanwhile more than two hundred thousand residents could lose Medicaid when new federal work rules take effect in January. The exchange serves people who don't get insurance through work or government programs like Medicare. That includes freelancers seasonal workers and early retirees. It launched in twenty thirteen under the Affordable Care Act.

If Democrats win back Congress in Tuesday's midterms they plan to push hard to bring back the expired subsidies. Senator Patty Murray says reinstating the ACA tax credits is a must. Any bill would still need the president's signature. People who want coverage starting January first must enroll by December thirty first. Signing up by January fifteenth means a February first start date.