Health insurance providers request rate increases

OLYMPIA — Fourteen of the state’s major health insurance providers are asking Washington state regulators to approve an average 7.16% increase in health insurance premiums in Washington for 2023, according to a press release from the Washington state Office of the Insurance Commissioner.

The increases are being sought for individual health insurance purchased both on the state’s health insurance exchange and outside the exchange, and not on health insurance plans provided through employers. According to OIC, roughly 223000 Washington residents are paying for individual health care through the state’s exchange, which was established as part of the Affordable Care Act passed by Congress and signed into law by then-President Barack Obama in 2010.

According to the release, the largest increase is being sought by Utah-based BridgeSpan Health Company, which is seeking a 16.10% rate increase. However, BridgeSpan Health does not provide insurance coverage to residents in Grant and Adams counties, according to OIC.

Within Grant and Adams counties, Coordinated Care Corporation — which also provides health care coverage under the state’s expanded Medicaid program — is asking regulators to approve a 1.23% decrease in premiums charged on individual health insurance policies in 2023, according to OIC, while LifeWise Health Plan of Washington is seeking a 12.51% increase on plans issued on the exchange (the company does not sell plans outside the exchange) and Asuris Northwest Health is seeking at 10.93% increase in health insurance premiums (the company only offers insurance plans outside the exchange).

For more information on obtaining individual health insurance coverage through the state’s exchange, visit www.wahealthplanfinder.org.