Kreidler Revises Deadline to June 7 for Health Insurer Proposed 2018 Plans

OLYMPIA, Wash., March 21 -- The Washington state Office of the Insurance Commissioner issued the following news release:

After considering health insurer concerns, Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler has set June 7, 2017, as the date that companies doing business in Washington state must file their proposed plans and rates for 2018.

This is a revision from the May 5 date the commissioner announced in late January.

"Health insurers expressed valid concerns about what is happening in Congress with changes to the Affordable Care Act," Kreidler said. "Insurers and consumers remain understandably concerned about stability. Allowing insurers more time to develop and submit their plans for review will help them adapt to any new federal requirements."

The June 7 deadline marks the formal start of Kreidler's review of individual and small-group health plans and stand-alone dental plans for 2018.

Once plans and their rates are approved, Washington's Health Benefit Exchange must certify them for sale on Washington Healthplanfinder (www.wahealthplanfinder.org).

Open enrollment for 2018 health plans begins Nov. 1, 2017.

About 750,000 more state residents now have health insurance since the Affordable Care Act took effect in 2010. Washington's uninsured rate also has dropped from 14 percent to just under 6 percent in the same period.

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