Jaime Herrera Beutler Works to Bring Health Insurance Coverage to Klickitat County

June 15--Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler, R-Camas, announced her support for legislation that would provide immediate assistance to residents of Klickitat County who will lose health insurance coverage next year.

The announcement follows that of Washington State Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler, who said no health insurers filed to sell individual plans to residents in Klickitat or Grays Harbor counties in 2018, according to a press release.

Herrera Beutler signed onto House Resolution 1933, the Health Care Options Act of 2017. It would allow residents in Klickitat County, as well as other counties with no insurance options in the exchange, to purchase state-approved insurance plans in the individual market.

It would also allow access to the subsidies people receive in counties where Obamacare changes have not collapsed to offset some of the cost of insurance premiums, and would exempt individuals in the counties from having to pay Obamacare's "individual mandate" penalty of at least $695 in 2018 for not purchasing insurance.

Herrera Beutler also sent a letter to Kreidler that urged him to take immediate action to restore health insurance options and reverse the trend of "eroding Obamacare exchanges in rural counties."

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