Monthly premiums for about 260,000 Washingtonians shopping on the individual health insurance market will increase on average 10.7% next year, state insurance officials announced Wednesday.
The state Office of the Insurance Commissioner approved 11 insurers to sell in 2025's Washington Health Benefit Exchange marketplace, which has again become more expensive to shop in. Many residents who buy their own health insurance through the exchange can get subsidized coverage, but advocates for more affordable health care say the announcement is a reminder that premiums and out-of-pocket costs are becoming increasingly difficult for people to manage.
The confirmation comes a day before the exchange on Thursday certifies new health insurance plans that will be up for sale starting Nov. 1, the beginning of open enrollment.
"I know this rate increase will hit hard for many people, especially at a time when other expenses are up," state insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler said in a written statement.
While changes in premiums will depend on several factors, including a person's plan, their age and the number of people covered, anyone who shops on the individual market (and who doesn't get health insurance from their employer and is not a Medicaid member) will see increases in monthly health care costs.
UnitedHealthcare of Oregon, which covers about 6,200 people in Washington, will see the largest rate increase, 23.7% — followed by Regence BlueShield, which covers about 28,000 people and whose rate will jump by about 22.8%.
About 41,000 people covered by Molina Healthcare of Washington will see the smallest increase at 5.7%
New rates are determined every year, after insurers submit rate change requests to the state insurance office and agency officials review each "basis for any increase or decrease," OIC said. If the rate request is found to be "justified," state law requires the agency to approve it.
This year, the group of 11 insurers initially requested rate increases of about 11.3% in total, before OIC eventually landed on 10.7%, the agency said.
"Once again, the health care industry is set to profit off Washington patients," Emily Brice, co-executive director of Northwest Health Law Advocates, said in a statement following OIC's announcement. "Last year, the premiums increased 9%, the year before that it was 8%, and now it's another 11%. People have had enough — we need solutions that tackle the problem of continually skyrocketing prices."
In 2023, Washingtonians with individual plans saw increases of about 8.18%. This past year, rates rose about 8.9%.
A key driver behind the rate climb is the rise in "services used" and "cost of delivering care," Kreidler said in the OIC statement, pointing to a recent report from the agency that offers several policy recommendations aiming to lower health care costs. The report was delivered to the state Legislature in August.
"I'm hopeful the Legislature will use this data to work toward meaningful, concrete changes in our health care system," Kriedler said. "These costs will not decrease if we don't act now."
Rates and plans for two more insurers that only sell outside the exchange — Asuris Northwest Health and Providence Health Plan — are still pending, OIC said.
How much will new monthly premiums cost?
Once open enrollment begins in November, people can visit Washington Healthplanfinder, the state's online health insurance marketplace, and start shopping.
At that point, residents will be able to see if they qualify for a subsidy, which lowers premiums, said OIC spokesperson Stephanie Marquis.
In the meantime, OIC also has an online tool, where people can access more details about rate increases and figure out how it might affect them.
Once on the website:
For example, a Regence BlueShield Bronze Essential 8500 plan will see a rate increase of about 26%, while the same company's Regence Cascade Silver plan will see a rate increase of about 20%, according to OIC's rate request decision report for Regence BlueShield.
A more specific example: According to the report, a single, 46-year-old nonsmoker living in King County, with a Regence Cascade Silver plan, will see their monthly premium increase from about $600 this year to $715 in 2025.
However, the rates in the decision reports do not take subsidies into account, so more accurate estimates of new monthly premiums will be on Washington Healthplanfinder, Marquis said.
"It's understandable why the cost of health care is causing people to lose sleep," Jim Freeburg, executive director of Patient Coalition of Washington, said in a written statement. "People need to stop living in fear of getting sick and racking up huge bills and medical debt in order to take care of their health."
Northwest Health Law Advocates and Patient Coalition of Washington are both part of Fair Health Prices Washington, a coalition of patient groups, consumer advocacy nonprofits, business leaders and labor unions that aims to make health care more affordable through specific policy solutions.
According to a recent survey from the group that polled 1,000 Washingtonians about health care affordability trends, about 88% of respondents were worried about being able to afford their health care in the future. More than half of respondents also said they did not get the medical care they needed in 2023 because of cost.
These are all reasons why OIC's five recommended affordability policies will be so important as the next legislative session approaches, Marquis said. On Wednesday, Brice of Northwest Health Law Advocates pointed to one of the five as an example of what could help lower costs.
"Washington patients are ready for policies that would actually lower the prices we pay for health care," Brice said. "Last month's OIC report put forward bold ideas like reference pricing, which would put common-sense limits on high health care charges. That would put more money back in the pockets of patients and taxpayers to spend on the care we really need."
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