Monthly premiums for about 260,000 Washingtonians who purchase health insurance on the individual market will increase an average of 10.7 percent next year, state insurance officials said Wednesday.
The state's Office of the Insurance Commissioner has approved 11 insurers to participate in the 2025 Washington Health Benefit Exchange marketplace, which has once again become more expensive to buy. Many residents who buy 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 afford.
The confirmation came a day before the exchange on Thursday certifies new health insurance plans that will be offered for sale starting Nov. 1, when open enrollment begins.
"I know this rate increase will hit a lot of people hard, especially at a time when other costs are rising," state Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler said in a written statement.
While changes in premiums will depend on several factors, including an individual's plan, age, and number of insured individuals, everyone who participates in the individual market (and who does not receive health insurance from their employer and is not a Medicaid member) will see an increase in their monthly health care costs.
UnitedHealthcare of Oregon, which serves about 6,200 people in Washington, will get the largest rate increase, 23.7%. It is followed by Regence BlueShield, which serves about 28,000 people and whose rates will increase by about 22.8%.
About 41,000 people served by Molina Healthcare of Washington will receive the smallest increase, 5.7 percent.
New rates are set each year after insurers submit rate change requests to the state insurance department, and agency officials review each "basis for any increase or decrease," the OIC said. If a rate change request is deemed "reasonable," state law requires the agency to approve it.
This year, the group of 11 insurers initially requested a total of 11.3 percent rate increases, but OIC ultimately settled on 10.7 percent, the agency said.
"Health insurance rates reflect what we expect care to cost," Regence BlueShield spokeswoman Ashley Bach said Thursday. "As a not-for-profit health insurer, we share concerns about the high cost of health care and seek to manage those costs where possible, such as by negotiating lower prices with hospitals and pharmaceutical companies for our members."
According to Bach, the main drivers of the rate changes are the increasingly high costs of health care and prescription drugs.
Others, including those involved in consumer and patient advocacy, pushed for more detailed explanations and addressing the causes of rising health care costs.
"Once again, the health care industry is about to profit off Washington patients," Emily Bryce, co-executive director of Northwest Health Law Advocates, said in a statement following the OIC announcement. "Insurance premiums went up 9% last year, 8% the year before, and now another 11%. People have had enough - we need solutions that address the ever-increasing prices."
In 2023, rates will increase by about 8.18% for Washington residents with individual plans. Last year, rates increased by about 8.9 percent.
"A key factor in the rate increases is an increase in 'services utilized' and 'the cost of providing health care,'" the OIC said in a statement, where Kreidler cited a recent agency report that offered several recommendations to reduce the cost of health care. The report was presented to the state legislature in August.
"I hope the Legislature uses this data to make meaningful and concrete changes to our health care system," Cridler said. "These costs will not go down unless we take action now."
OIC officials said rates and plans for two other insurers that only trade outside the exchange - Asuris Northwest Health and Providence Health Plan - have not yet been approved.
How much will the new monthly insurance premiums cost?
Once open enrollment begins in November, people will be able to visit Washington Healthplanfinder, the state's online health insurance marketplace, and start shopping.
According to OIC spokeswoman Stephanie Markis, at that point residents will be able to find out if they qualify for a subsidy that lowers insurance premiums.
Meanwhile, OIC also offers an online tool where people can get more information about the rate hike and find out how it might affect them.
For example, the Regence BlueShield Bronze Essential 8500 plan will increase by about 26%, and the same company's Regence Cascade Silver plan will increase by about 20%, according to the OIC's rate request decision report for Regence BlueShield.
A more specific example: According to the report, for a single 46-year-old non-smoking King County resident with a Regence Cascade Silver plan, the monthly premium would increase from $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 provided on the Washington Healthplanfinder website, Markis said.
"It's understandable why the cost of health care is causing people to lose sleep," Jim Freeburg, executive director of the 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 to take care of their health."
Northwest Health Law Advocates and the Patient Coalition of Washington are part of Fair Health Prices Washington, a coalition of patient groups, nonprofit consumer advocacy organizations, business leaders and labor unions dedicated to making health care more affordable through specific policy solutions.
According to a recent study conducted by a group that surveyed 1,000 Washington, D.C. residents about health care affordability trends, about 88% of respondents are worried about whether they will be able to afford health care in the future. More than half of respondents also said they will not be able to get the health care they need in 2023 because of cost.
For those reasons, Marquis said, the five OIC-recommended measures to make medications affordable will be very important ahead of the next legislative session. On Wednesday, Bryce of Northwest Health Law Advocates gave one of the five examples of things that could help lower costs.
"Washington patients are ready for policies that will truly lower the prices we pay for health care," Bryce said. "The OIC report released last month put forward bold ideas, such as reference pricing, that would place reasonable limits on high health care costs. This will put more money back in the pockets of patients and taxpayers to spend on the care we really need."