As of today, Friday August 6th, the Washington Health Insurance Exchange will be offering 42 health plans in 2014. The heat has been turned up and both the Office of Insurance and the Exchange Board have been busy in the last few days.
Three weeks ago we thought we'd be seeing the number of health plans somewhere in the low to mid twenties. They another 8 or 9 were approved and then two more companies were given the green light on August 5th.
That is a lot of options for folks to survey. Some of the carriers are specializing in Medicare level plans. Excuse me, the new "branding" is Washington Apple Health which is doesn't sound like the welfare end of health plans. But it is.
Other carriers are aiming for the middle of the road plans, mostly Bronze, Silver and some Gold plans. It doesn't look like any carrier will be offering a Platinum plan. We believe most individuals and families will settle on a Silver plan.
As of today, there are 23 more days until the Health Insurance Exchange website is to be open for enrollment. The ride may be bumpy for some and more than a few people will delay or procrastinate until December. Keep in mind if you need/want a new plan for January 1st you must choose one no later than December 23rd.
If you delay until after Christmas you'll have a February 1st start date. If you wait until after January 23rd you'll have a March 1st start date. If you wait until after March 23rd you'll have an April 1st start date. Get it? Do not delay.
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