FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Basic Health Premium Increases May Leave up to 40,000 Without Coverage
June 11, 2009 – Seattle, WA – This week, the Health Care Authority (HCA) announced its plan to increase Basic Health premiums to meet its budget cut requirements. As a result, as many as 40,000 people may lose their health care coverage if they can’t find or qualify for an alternative program.
Currently, Basic Health covers nearly 100,000 Washington residents. Enrollees pay a portion of their monthly premium, based on their age and income. The average enrollee pays $36 a month. Beginning in January 2010, the average enrollee premium will increase to $61.60 under the strategy announced by HCA on June 8, 2009. At the same time, the annual deductible of $150 will also be raised to $250.
The Seattle Times reported that premiums for individuals at the lowest end of the income scale will see a 100 percent increase in their rates, while rates for enrollees at the top end of the income scale will go up by about 50 percent, to about $400 a month for those 55 and older.
“It is more than disappointing to see that as a result of the Legislature’s decisions our state’s working poor will be hit with this rate increase, especially in an economic climate that is expected to take years to improve,” said Lance Hunsinger, CEO of Community Health Plan of Washington (CHP). “In addition to those who can no longer afford coverage under Basic Health, a projected additional 110,000 people are expected to lose their jobs and health coverage. We may see the number of uninsured in Washington swell to more than 875,000 by the end of this year—a shocking increase of nearly 21 percent in just one year’s time.”
Community Health Plan is the largest insurer in Washington state for Basic Health enrollees, currently covering more than 62,000 people. CHP and the community health centers—the health care home to more than 600,000 people in Washington—will seek new ways to provide care for the underinsured and uninsured throughout Washington.
“We all hope that a solution to our inequitable health care system is on the way,” said Hunsinger, “but the 30,000 people on the wait list and the more than 700,000 currently uninsured people in Washington cannot wait for affordable coverage options. We hope the Washington State Legislature, which made these cuts, will restore them during the next legislative session, even it if means raising new revenues.”
About Community Health Plan
Community Health Plan provides managed care for more than 220,000 individuals and families throughout Washington. It is the state’s largest provider of the Basic Health Plan and the second largest health plan serving members of the state’s Medicaid program, including Healthy Options, the State Children’s Health Insurance Program, and GA-U. The health plan’s delivery system includes more than 300 primary care clinics, 1,600 providers, 8,000 specialists, and 90 hospitals. Community Health Plan features an incentive program that rewards its members for getting the preventive care they and their families need.
www.chpw.org
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For more information please contact:
David Kinard
Director, Marketing & Corporate Communications
206-613-8949
david.kinard@chpw.org
