66,000 WA residents dropped their health insurance this year, report says

Tens of thousands of Washingtonians have abandoned their health care plan this year amid ongoing federal changes.

According to a July report from the Washington Health Benefits Exchange, from Nov. 1, 2025 to March 31, 2026, 66,000 people dropped their Affordable Care Act qualified health insurance plans during or just after open enrollment. The report, shared with The News Tribune early this month, found that 13.6% of the 286,500 insured through the Exchange in 2025 dropped their coverage. This year that rate jumped to 24.8%, illustrating an 82% increase in the rate of people dropping their health coverage.

Tara Lee, chief of communications for the Exchange, told The News Tribune in a phone call that many people dropped following the expiration of the federal enhanced premium tax credits.

“They could have been paying $400 a month for a plan, but now maybe it’s doubled or it’s gone from $400 to $600 or $400 to $800,” Lee said. “ Without those enhanced premium tax credits, then it’s just the affordability issue.”

In 2025, the federal government decided to not renew the Affordable Care Act’s enhanced premium tax credits that expanded eligibility for lower health insurance premiums for those enrolled in qualified health plans. The enhanced tax credit was first established in 2021 under the American Rescue Plan Act in response to the COVID-19 pandemic but expired in December 2025.

According to Lee, since the expiration of these credits, many enrollees had their premiums double or triple. She explained that that while other federal tax and state subsidies still exist, they are only available for people who meet or fall under the 250% federal poverty level. That translates to those who earn $39,900 per year for a single household or $68,300 a year for a family of three.

“The interesting thing is the people who did not renew just went in and looked and saw even with those tax credits, those state and federal tax credits, I just can’t do it,” Lee said.

The report finds that lower-income people were disproportionately impacted by the loss of the enhanced federal subsidies. About 42% of drops are people who fall under the 200% Federal Poverty Level, which translates to about $30,000 a year for a single household and around $66,000 for a household of four. The majority of the drops were by those 34 and younger. Drops were the most prevalent among Black and Hispanic communities, particularly in more rural areas.

Pierce County had the sixth-highest drop rate at 22% among all state counties and the highest drop rate among other urban counties. When asked why, Lee said it could be a combination of federal poverty level and subsidy status among the county’s residents, but that the Exchange lacks adequate resources for an in-depth analysis.

“Spokane and Benton counties had a similar high drop rate to Pierce County, while other urban counties appear across the medium to low drop rates,” Lee wrote in an email.

This report comes after the Exchange announced that nearly 13% fewer residents enrolled in this year’s open enrollment with about 250,000 Washingtonians enrolled compared to the 286,500 that enrolled in 2025. According to a May press release from the Exchange, before the expiration of the federal credits, enrollment numbers kept growing or were consistent throughout the year.

Lee said that the Exchange expects even more drops to occur once new H.R.1 requirements take effect later in October and in the coming years. H.R.1, Congress’s sweeping tax cut and federal savings package, will reduce federal health insurance tax credits for lawfully present immigrants and add new income verification processes for auto-renewals.

The Exchange estimated that the cumulative effect of federal changes could result in about one third to one half of all current enrollees to lose access to affordable health insurance.

“As my grandma would say, it’s penny wise, pound foolish,” Lee said. She said the increase in premiums can lead people to delay preventative care and seek services once it’s too late which will ultimately result in higher costs.

Lori Meyers, spokesperson for MultiCare, a locally governed nonprofit health system, told The News Tribune in an email that at this time, MultiCare has not seen a significant impact related to the reported decline in qualified health plan enrollment.

“Based on a preliminary review of our patient population data, we have not identified substantive changes in the number of patients covered by marketplace health plans,” Meyers said.

“Our teams continue to review the data and monitor enrollment trends to better understand any potential changes over time,” Meyers continued.

Patricia Dill, managing care supervisor for Community Health Care, a private nonprofit clinic system in Pierce County, told The News Tribune that they have already seen a decrease in the amount of people enrolled in qualified health plans. She said the clinic continues to prioritize continuity of care and offers sliding scale fees, payment plans, and referrals to other financial assistance programs to help mitigate high health care costs.

“We are very concerned, and it is very important to us to educate our community and have them know that we are here to support them,” Dill said in a phone call.

Dill said Community Health Care offers health coverage support through their navigator team for the entire county not just for Community Health Care patients. Their navigator team can be reached online or by calling (253) 722-2154 to schedule an Insurance Enrollment appointment. Residents can ask navigators questions about their coverage and find the best-fitting health insurance plan, including qualified health plans offered through the Exchange.

Lee said the Exchange also has statewide navigators, brokers, and other community partners in each county to provide enrollment support. Residents of Pierce County can work with Sea Mar Community Health Centers as well as FND Insurance & Financial Services LLC on their enrollment. For more information visit the Exchange’s website.

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