15 Payers File on WA Individual Health Insurance Marketplace

Fifteen healthcare payers have filed plans for the 2021 Affordable Care Act (ACA) individual health insurance marketplace, the Office of the Insurance Commissioner for Washington State announced.

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“Washington state fully embraced the Affordable Care Act and we’re seeing the benefits today, as we face the uncertainty created by the coronavirus pandemic,” said Mike Kreidler, Washington State’s insurance commissioner.

In total, the payers have filed 183 individual health insurance plans for 2021. Among the 15 payers, UnitedHealthcare of Oregon and Community Health Network of Washington will be entering the Washington individual health insurance market for the first time.

As a result of strong interest in the individual health insurance market, not only will Washington State have no bare counties, but each county will have at least two insurer options available on the marketplace.

With 282,000 residents not covered under an employer-sponsored health plan, many turn to the individual health insurance market. Nearly two-thirds (65 percent) of Washingtonians who choose to buy a plan on the individual health insurance market will be eligible for a subsidy.

During the coronavirus pandemic, the exchange continues to be central to the state’s overall rate of insurance. As one of a handful of states that has its own state-based exchange, Washington was able to open a special enrollment period from March 10 through May 8 due to the coronavirus pandemic. During that time, around 19,500 Washingtonians enrolled in a health plan, the state announced.

Ten payers will be offering plans outside of the state’s exchange, the press release also noted.

Washington has a positive history with the ACA. Between 2014 when the ACA went into effect until 2017, the state saw its uninsured rate drop from 14 percent to 5.5 percent.

However, until now, the state had never seen so many insurer options available on its exchange. As recently as 2019, 14 of the 39 Washington counties had at least two carrier options, Washington’s health benefit exchange stated. In 2020, 31 of the counties had at least two carriers.

A strong individual health insurance market may be even more necessary during the coronavirus pandemic, Kreidler indicated.

“With so many people losing their jobs and their employer-sponsored health care, I’m grateful we’re seeing such a robust market for those who will rely on these options now more than ever,” Kreidler said.

Experts agree that the pandemic could trigger a migration from employer-sponsored health plans to ACA plans and Medicaid. As unemployment skyrocketed during the height of the coronavirus pandemic, an estimated 14 million individuals in hard-hit industries could become eligible for coverage through subsidies on the ACA individual health insurance market or through Medicaid.

Kriedler pointed to the boost in insurer entries in Washington as proof that the ACA has improved access to healthcare coverage, even as the fate of the ACA remains unknown.

“Despite ongoing attacks from the Trump administration, the ACA’s reforms have helped create reliable access to quality health insurance for individuals and their families and a stable marketplace where insurers want to do business,” Kriedler stated.

For states like Washington that have embraced the ACA exchanges, the heightening competition in the individual health insurance market could have positive implications for consumers further down the road, Katherine Hempstead, a senior adviser from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, explained to HealthPayerIntelligence.

“There probably will be more entry and the individual health insurance markets are going to get more competitive, which is good for consumers,” said Hempstead.

“It does make them want to be competitive in their pricing. It's not like at the beginning of this, where the carriers kind of acted like they're doing people a favor to participate. I think now they're going to be more serious, and they're not going to want to over price.”

In the meantime, Washington’s Office of the Insurance Commissioner will continue to review the health plans’ proposals and is allowing payers to adjust their projections as the impacts of the pandemic become more clear.