Washington health insurance

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status report:
Washington state health insurance exchange

What progress is being made in setting up its federally-mandated Washington state health insurance exchange?"

About state health insurance exchanges

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How did Washington officials vote on health reform?

H.R.2: Repealing the Health Care Bill

#14

Date of Vote: 1/19/2011 Status: House passed 245-189, 1 not voting

HOUSE|SENATE

1/19/2011--Passed House amended. Repealing the Job-Killing Health Care Law Act - Repeals the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, effective as of its enactment. Restores provisions of law amended by such Act. Repeals the health care provisions of the Health Care and Education and Reconciliation Act of 2010, effective as of the Act's enactment. Restores provisions of law amended by the Act's health care provisions. [more]

Yes (4)

• Doc Hastings
• Jaime Herrera Beutler
• Cathy McMorris Rodgers

• Dave Reichert

Our
Pick

No (5)

• Norman Dicks
• Jay Inslee
• Rick Larsen

• James McDermott
• Adam Smith

how healthy is living in Washington?

Washington State climbed up one spot from 2009 and is now ranked as the 11th healthiest state to live in, according to the 2010 America's Health Rankings® by the United Health Foundation.

The good news:

• Washington has the lowest rate of infant mortality in the nation, at only 4.8 deaths per 1,000 live births.
• It also has a particularly low rate of smoking, at only 14.9 percent of the overall population.
• Both of these statistics are ones that have seen decreases in Washington over the last year.
• The state was also praised for its low rates of both occupational fatalities and preventable hospitalizations.

The bad news:

• The biggest challenges facing Washington are its low rates of early prenatal care for women in their first trimester of pregnancy (67.8 percent) and immunization coverage for infants between the ages of 19 and 35 months (88.6 percent).
• There have been rises in Washington of children in poverty (up to 18 percent from 13.2 percent last year) and obesity (up to 26.9 percent from 18.2 percent in 2000).
• The geographic disparity of Washington state is listed at 12.5 percent.

Washington's best and worst category rankings:

• Infant mortality – 1st
• Occupational fatalities – 2nd
• Prevalence of smoking – 3rd
• Geographic disparity – 33rd
• Immunization coverage – 36th
• Early prenatal care – 42nd

more details

• See the United Health Foundation's latest findings on Washington.
• Trust for America's Health ia another source for key Washington health quality findings. In addition, 2010's federal health reform, the Affordable Care Act (ACA), included the creation of a prevention fund to provide more than $16 billion over the next 10 years to invest in effective, proven prevention efforts, like childhood obesity prevention and tobacco cessation, and the site has a report on how it impacts Washington here.

get local health results

State snapshot too large? Get county-by-county health rankings for Washington, from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Population Health Institute at the University of Wisconsin.

does Washington have a health insurance high risk pool?

Washington State Health Insurance Pool
Toll-free 1-800-877-5187

IMPORTANT UPDATE: Starting in 2010, Washington started offering health care insurance coverage to residents through the federally established temporary high-risk pool program. To find out more about Washington's participation, click here.

Risk pools are state-sponsored programs to help people with a history of medical problems in their family to purchase coverage. These pools are for people who can afford to buy health insurance, but are not able to get underwritten in the private market because of a pre-existing health condition. These programs can vary significantly from state to state in price, benefits and number of people served. Often insurance companies doing business in the state are required to contribute to the pool to keep it in the black. In the best cases, they allow people to be able to switch jobs or become self-employed without the fear of losing their health insurance coverage. Read more about risk pools here.

how to find health insurance in Washington

Cover The Uninsured is a national effort to highlight the fact that too many Americans are living without health insurance and to demand solutions from our nation's leaders. Read more information on its efforts. It is a project of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

• Cover The Uninsured's facts on the uninsured in Washington and all other states.
• The Foundation for Health Coverage Education's guide on how to find health insurance in Washington.
• Materiales En Español – Guías para encontrar cobertura de seguro de salud.

Georgetown's Washington health insurance guide

Georgetown University's Health Policy Institute has researched and written state-by-state guides for finding and keeping health insurance. It updates these guides as federal and state policies change. A number of non-profit organizations help fund its research. Learn more about the Health Policy Institute.

Review Georgetown's guide for Washington.

Health insurance plan report cards for Washington

The National Committee for Quality Assurance is a private, non-profit organization that, among other things, provides health care plan report cards for consumers.

Go here to search for Washington health insurance plan report cards.

Washington government health insurance resources

Consumer publications from Washington State's Office of the Insurance Commissioner – includes many downloadable PDF guides on buying different types of health insurance.

Find out if you qualify for government-sponsored medical benefits – six questions to determine whether you may be eligible for free medical services.

Washington State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) – many families can get free or low-cost health insurance for their kids. A family of 4 with gross income up to $4,303 month may be eligible.