Washington consumers find the coverage they need through the state’s insurance exchange
The open enrollment period for health insurance exchanges has ended and more than 200,000 people have enrolled for coverage in Washington. State officials note that more people may have attempted to acquire coverage through exchanges, but were unable to due to technical difficulties. Those that experienced computer issues are being encouraged to contact Washington Healthplanfinder in order to complete the enrollment process. Though the open enrollment period is over, those with partially completed enrollment applications could be granted extra time to acquire the health insurance they need.
Those that experienced problems with the enrollment process may still have time to acquire coverage
During the final hours of the open enrollment period, exchange activity spiked. According to exchange spokesman Michael Marchand, the exchange experienced nearly 300 enrollees in an hour. Many people struggled to enroll completely due to problems with the Department of Social Health Services eligibility service. The problem with the service meant that the state’s health insurance exchange was mostly inaccessible during a significant portion of the weekend.
Enrollment rates throughout the US are on the rise
Many people throughout the country opted to find coverage through health insurance exchanges. The majority of these people were automatically enrolled in exchanges because they found coverage during the last open enrollment period. Consumers that have enrolled for coverage are also eligible for federal subsidies, which are meant to reduce the cost of health insurance policies by a considerable margin.
Insurance coverage is becoming more expensive, and federal penalty threatens more financial pressure
State officials believe that many people opted to acquire coverage through the state’s health insurance exchange because of a growing federal penalty. The penalty applies to those that do not have any insurance coverage. This year, the penalty became more costly, threatening to place consumers under greater financial pressure. The problem, however, is that health insurance coverage is also becoming more expensive as insurers raise premiums. Insurers are raising premiums due to the financial losses they have experienced in the past, some of which is due to the higher number of claims coming from the newly insured.