Annual Washington State Health Insurance Market Update
The following contains information for our NAHP Alternative Health Plan Solutions and ACA/Obamacare plans for individuals and small businesses in the state of Washington.
Washington State Alternative Health Plan Solutions Updates
IMPORTANT NOTE: All non-ACA/Obamacare alternative plans are available year-round. For both individuals and small groups. There is NO limited (open enrollment) period for these options.
Health Insurance Buffet - Individual Alternative Plans
In Washington the state continues to take a very pro-ACA/Obamacare position.
For individuals, Short Term Medical plans continue to be limited to just ONE 3-month policy per person per year. The only company that we are aware of that is still offering Short Term Medical plans is Lifemap of WA.
With that said, we still have the same alternative “health plan buffet” package available for those who do not qualify for a tax credit subsidy to help pay for an ACA/Obamacare plan. We have a few additions to the supplemental plans that I will discuss below.
Our one Primary plan is the Philadelphia American Health Choice Select Fixed Benefit plan.
NEW! As noted below the newest supplemental plan addition is my favorite hospital indemnity plan that I have been offering in other states for several years. The Manhattan Life Out of Pocket Protection plan is the MOST affordable plan available to provide extra coverage for an inpatient hospital stay of at least one day.
Our Supplemental Plan lineup has expanded and improved:
REMINDER NOTE: All these supplemental plans pay in addition to ANY other coverage you have. So, they are NOT just for our alternative “buffet” plans. They can reduce/eliminate out of pocket costs (plus provide additional cash for bills and other costs) of ANY primary health plan (group, individual, Medicare, etc.)
- Accident Plans – In addition to accident supplemental plans from all our Primary plan companies (above), we offer separate LifeSecure Accident plans.
- Critical Illness Plans – Again, along with plans from all our Primary plan companies, we offer separate LifeSecure Critical Illness plans.
· Accident + Critical Illness Plans - We have a new plan from the IHC Group called Metal Gap 2. This is a guaranteed issue product that offers $2,500 to $10,000 of both Accident and Critical Illness coverage.
- Cancer and Dread Disease Treatment – BEST VALUE - The new addition to our alternative “buffet“ package is the Manhattan Life Cancer Care Plus plans. These plans give a HUGE boost by paying for actual treatment costs for Cancer and many other Dread Diseases.
- Hospital Stay Protection – NEW! The newest addition is my favorite Manhattan Life Out of Pocket Protection Plan! We offer plans from companies such as Surebridge, LifeSecure, Medico, and Washington National.
- Hospitalization Buy-Up - We have a new plan from Enrollment First. When paired with their SelectMed Pro or Max plans (see below), this plan provides an extra $50,000 or $100,000 of inpatient hospital coverage. This can be a great addition to a Fixed Benefit plan as your primary coverage to provide extra protection for hospitalization.
- Preventive Care Plus Plans – For those who want the MOST comprehensive coverage for preventive care plus other outpatient services, we have the Enrollment First SelectMed. There are 3 options Base, Pro and Max.
· Prescription Drug Plans For anyone who needs extra coverage for high cost prescriptions, we offer the SHA SCRIPTS program that includes their SHARx prescription drug plan. This plan works with our alternative plans and any employer plan with a high deductible for non-preferred brand and specialty prescriptions.
More information on all plans above can be found on each company’s page on our website and on our US Supplemental Coverage page.
Small Group Alternative Plans
In addition to the three companies we already have (National General, Allied National and Trustmark), we have a new agency called National Insurance Partners (NIPC) with whom we have recently partnered. NIPC has five different companies offering Level Funded plans.
All eight of these options provide cost-saving, level funded alternative group health plans. Level funded plans can be a BETTER option for many businesses than the “one size fits all” ACA/Obamacare small group health insurance plans.
If you own, or work for a business with 5 to 50 employees covered on a “traditional,” fully insured group health plan, and believe the covered group members to be reasonably healthy overall, then it might be time for your company to explore a level funded plan.
To get quotes on a level funded group health plan, please schedule a call with us to review your situation. We will also need you to fill out our Group Census spreadsheet and email it to: robtavis@ushealthinsurancesolutions.com.
Washington State 2022 ACA/Obamacare Health Insurance Market Updates
Individual Plans
In Washington there is a LOT of activity in the ACA/Obamacare individual market. Please see the following for updates.
IMPORTANT NOTE: As noted in the link above, there are both Standard and Public Option plans available. The Public Option plans have “Select” in their name. Public Option plans are sold by the private insurance companies, but they are fully controlled, administered and claims paid by the State of WA. In general, any insurance market with a “public option” is the first step toward a “single payer” system that eliminates private insurance options over time. I just want you to be aware of this as you make your coverage choices.
The following lists company specific updates for 2022:
Providence Health Plan, which joined Washington’s exchange as of 2020, plans to only offer coverage outside the exchange as of 2022 (they offer plans in the exchange in six counties in 2021: Benton, Clark, Franklin, Spokane, Thurston, and Walla Walla).
However, four of Washington’s exchange insurers plan to expand their coverage areas for 2022:
Community Health Network’s coverage area will grow from nine to 18 counties
Coordinated Care’s (Ambetter) coverage area will go from 28 to 29 counties (Klickitat is being added)
Lifewise’s coverage area will go from 33 to 35 counties (Skamania and Wahkiakum are being added)
Molina’s coverage area will go from 14 to 18 counties (Benton, Cowlitz, Franklin, and Lewis are being added)
Premera will continue to offer plans in the exchange, but is reducing its coverage area, eliminating Skamania and Wahkiakum counties. In 2022 you’ll find them in 5 counties: Franklin, Grays Harbor, King, Kitsap, Pacific.
Premera’s Individual Signature network is once again the largest of any Individual insurer in WA. You will have access to providers at UW Medicine, Providence, Swedish, Virginia Mason, Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, and more.
Regence is offering plans in many select counties in 2022. All plans will be sold on the Health Plan Finder exchange. They will have one broad Individual and Family provider network and three other regional networks: UW Medicine, Eastside Health and Multicare Connected Care networks.
United Healthcare will offer an expanded set of plans in addition to the Cascade Select plans from last year. UnitedHealthcare's 2022 Footprint includes the following counties:
Clallam, Jefferson, King, Mason, Pierce, Lincoln, Kittitas, Yakima, Adams and Whitman.
Molina has added Seattle Cancer Care Alliance to their network in 2022.
Ambetter is expanding into Klickitat and Pacific counties in 2022.
Small Group Plans
As with many states there is not much “new” to report with ACA/Obamacare small group plans in Washington.
While not a lot has changed (other than rates), the one thing that is the same is that to the best of my knowledge Premera Blue Cross is still the only company that will a “group of one” small group plan for business owners without any other “common law” employees. They must meet specific criteria to qualify.
2022 Rate ACA/Obamacare review:
2022 Rate ACA/Obamacare Approved Rates:
Washington individual plan approved rate filings are as follows:
Asuris - Received an average decrease of % varying by plan type (not approved as of 10/19/21)
Bridgespan Health Received an average increase of 3.81% varying by plan type
Community Health Network of Washington - Received an average decrease of 5.98% varying by plan type
Coordinated Care (Ambetter) - Received an average increase of 2.61% varying by plan type
Kaiser Permanente of WA HMO plans - Received an average increase range of 0/4% to 0.96% varying by plan type and location
Lifewise - Received an average increase of 1.46% varying by plan type
Molina Healthcare HMO (ON Exchange only) - Received an average increase of 8.31% varying by plan type
PacificSource Health Plans - Received an average decrease of 5.26% varying by plan type
Premera Blue Cross – Received an average increase of 17.9% varying by plan type
Providence Health Plan - Received an average increase of % varying by plan type type (not approved as of 10/3/21)
Regence BlueShield - Received an average increase of 2.63% varying by plan type
Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Oregon - Received an average increase of 3.13% varying by plan type
NOTE: Final approved rates are not readily available at the time of this writing. We will do our best to update this page with the approved rates as soon as we can.
Washington small group market approved rate filings look like this:
Aetna - Received an average increase of % varying by plan type
Asuris - Received an average increase of % varying by plan type
Health Alliance NW Health Plan - Received an average increase of % varying by plan type
Kaiser Permanente of WA HMO plans - Received an average increase of % varying by plan type and location
Kaiser Permanente of WA Options PPO plans - Received an average increase of % varying by plan type
Premera Blue Cross – Received an average increase of % varying by plan type (not finalized yet).
Regence BlueShield – Received an average increase of % varying by plan type
Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Oregon - Received an average increase of % varying by plan type
United Healthcare - Received an average range of a decrease of % to a % increase varying by plan type and network
2022 Preliminary Rate review:
Washington preliminary 2022 individual plan rate filing requests are as follows:
Asuris - requested an average increase of 4.49% varying by plan type (not finalized yet)
Bridgespan Health requested an average increase of 3.79% varying by plan type (not finalized yet)
Community Health Network of Washington - requested an average decrease of 4.08% varying by plan type (not finalized yet)
Coordinated Care (Ambetter) - requested an average increase of 1.31% varying by plan type (not finalized yet)
Kaiser Permanente of WA HMO plans - requested an average increase range of 0.49% to 0.96% varying by plan type and location (not finalized yet).
Lifewise - requested an average increase of 6.84% varying by plan type (not finalized yet)
Molina Healthcare HMO (ON Exchange only) - requested an average increase of 7.22% varying by plan type (not finalized yet)
PacificSource Health Plans - requested an average decrease of 5.76% varying by plan type (not finalized yet)
Premera Blue Cross – requested an average increase of 28.98% varying by plan type (not finalized yet)
Providence Health Plan - requested an average increase of 4.6% varying by plan type (not finalized yet)
Regence BlueShield - requested an average increase of 2.74% varying by plan type (not finalized yet)
Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Oregon - requested an average increase of 3.6% varying by plan type (not finalized yet)
United Healthcare of Oregon - requested an average decrease of 4.07% varying by plan type (not finalized yet)
Washington small group market rate filing requests look like this
Aetna - requested an average increase of 8.99% varying by plan type (not finalized yet).
Asuris - requested an average increase of 1.65% varying by plan type (not finalized yet).
Health Alliance NW Health Plan - requested an average increase of 5.92% varying by plan type (not finalized yet).
Kaiser Permanente of WA HMO plans - requested an average increase of 3.08% varying by plan type and location (not finalized yet).
Kaiser Permanente of WA Options PPO plans - requested an average increase of 3.07% varying by plan type (not finalized yet).
Premera Blue Cross – requested an average increase of 8.5% varying by plan type (not finalized yet).
Regence BlueShield – requested an average increase of 1.66% varying by plan type (not finalized yet).
Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Oregon - requested an average increase of 2.67% varying by plan type (not finalized yet)
United Healthcare - requested an average range of a increase of 5.83% to 9.57% varying by plan type and network (not finalized yet)
US Healthcare Resources and Shopping Services
I invite you to go to my US Healthcare Resources page and spend some time going through all of the different tools, services and providers that are available to help you become a better health care consumer. I believe these resources can help you lower your overall health care costs no matter what primary health insurance you have.
U.S. Insurance Solutions is here to help
Remember, you are NOT in this alone…I am here to help! As your Personal Health Insurance Advisor, my goal is to make your life easier by taking the hassle out of finding the right health plan for your situation and needs.
To discuss your health insurance options and make sure you have the best possible health plan for your situation, please go to the link above with the image that says CALL ME and schedule a call with me on a day and time that works for you, and I will call you to review your options.