Washington’s Public Option Gets Mixed Results in First Year

Washington became the first state in the country to implement a public option on its individual exchange, with plans launching in the 2021 plan year. Experts say that it’s not yet clear whether the plans, which are available through contracts with carriers including UnitedHealthcare, are slowing premium growth.

Washington’s legislature in July 2019 passed a law, S.B. 5526, creating the public option program, called Cascade Care Select. Democratic officials including Gov. Jay Inslee and Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler have said that the plans are meant to lower out-of-pocket costs and ensure that there is individual market competition in every county of the state. In 2019, 14 counties had only one option for exchange consumers.

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Peter Johnson

Peter Johnson

Peter has worked as a journalist since 2011 and has covered health care since 2020. At AIS Health, Peter covers trends in finance, business and policy that affect the health insurance and pharma sectors. For Health Plan Weekly, he covers all aspects of the U.S. health insurance sector, including employer-sponsored insurance, Medicaid managed care, Medicare Advantage and the Affordable Care Act individual marketplaces. In Radar on Drug Benefits, Peter covers the operations of (and conflicts between) pharmacy benefit managers and pharmaceutical manufacturers, with a particular focus on pricing dynamics and market access. Before joining AIS Health, Peter covered transportation, public safety and local government for various outlets in Seattle, his hometown and current place of residence. He graduated with a B.A. from Colby College.

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