SENATOR MURRAY RESPONDS TO 22.2% RATE INCREASE FOR WASHINGTON'S 2027 EXCHANGE HEALTH INSURANCE MARKET

The following information was released by Washington Senator Patty Murray:

Washington's Office of Insurance Commissioner Says Republicans Refusing to Extend ACA Tax Credits is Key Driver of New Premium Hike

ICYMI: New Report Shows Health Care Premiums Doubled for Over 200,000 Washingtonians Thanks to Trump and Republicans' Health Care Cuts

Washington, D.C.Todaynearly a year after Republicans refused to extend the Affordable Care Act (ACA) enhanced premium tax creditsthe Office of the Insurance Commissioner of Washington State announced that a 22.2% average rate increase was approved for insurance providers who will sell individual health plans on the Washington Health Benefit Exchange in 2027.

In response, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, released the following statement.

"This massive rate increase is a direct result of the health care crisis that Republicans have created by prioritizing billionaires over American families. Costs are skyrocketing while patients are losing health coverageand it didn't have to be this way. We know exactly how we got here: last year, Republicans passed the single largest cut to health care in our country's history, and they blocked every Democratic effort to extend the ACA tax credits," said Senator Murray. "Trump and Republicans would rather give trillions in tax breaks to billionaires and endlessly fund Trump's war with Iran than help families afford their doctor appointments and prescriptions. Republicans chose to put billionaires and foreign wars ahead of health care for the American peoplebut the people can have the last word using their voice and their vote."

In August, a new report was released detailing how the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA)which cut over $1 trillion from health care to fund tax breaks for millionaires and billionaireshas caused 50,545 Washingtonians to lose their Medicaid, CHIP, or ACA coverage they relied on to receive health care. Republicans also refused to extend the ACA enhanced premium tax credits, which caused premiums to double for 226,813 people across Washington state and which the Washington State Insurance Commissioner cites as a primary reason driving the rate increase for 2027. For 2026, rates for plans on the Washington Health Benefit Exchange increased by 21%, which had direct impacts on families. This year, a family of four in Washington state who makes $130,000 a year saw their average annual premium rise by $12,392costing them a total of $23,442.

Hospitals and clinics in Washington state are facing a $160 million loss in funding, a 5.6% spike in uncompensated care, and are expected to lose between $31 billion and $51 billion over the next decade due to Republicans' health care cuts. So far 37 hospitals, clinics, and nursing homes in Washington state are at-risk, have announced cuts to services, are closing, or have closed, including:

AT-RISK: Astria Sunnyside Hospital, Coulee Medical Center, Dayton General Hospital, Forks Community Hospital, Klickitat Valley Health, Lake Chelan Hospital Labor and Delivery Ward, Mason General Hospital, Mid-Valley Hospital, Odessa Memorial Hospital, Othello Community Hospital, Planned Parenthood of Greater Washington and North Idaho health centers, Prosser Memorial Health, Samaritan Hospital, Summit Pacific Medical Center, Three Rivers Hospital, Toppenish Community Hospital

CUTS ANNOUNCED: East Adams Rural Healthcare Ritzville Hospital, Overlake Medical Center and Clinics, PeaceHealth, PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center, Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center, Providence Swedish, Seattle Children's Hospital, Virginia Mason Franciscan Health

CLOSED: DominiCare (St. Joseph's Hospital), Legacy Salmon Creek Pain Clinic, Legacy-GoHealth Camas, Legacy-GoHealth Cascade Park, Legacy-GoHealth Salmon Creek, Outpatient Orthopedic Physical Therapy Clinic (Providence Medical Park), Overlake Medical Center Lake Hills urgent care clinic, Planned Parenthood Port Angeles Health Center, Providence St. Joseph's Hospital Orthopedic Physical Therapy Clinic, St. Michael Medical Center Pediatric Outpatient Rehabilitation Clinic, Swedish Weight Loss Outpatient Clinic, The Spokane Allergy and Asthma Clinic, ZoomCare Super Bellevue Emergency Care

ABOUT GOP REFUSAL TO EXTEND ACA TAX CREDITS:

Senator Murray forced the issue of the ACA tax credits at every opportunity before Republicans ultimately refused to take any action,speakingoutnonstopabout theurgentneed tosavehealth care andcalling onRepublicans to come to the negotiating table to work out a bipartisan deal to extend the ACA tax credits. She took to the Senate floor in November 2025 with her Democratic colleagues to call for aclean one-year extensionof the ACA tax credits, and held numerousvirtualpressconferenceswith Washingtonians, as well as residents of neighboring statesIdahoandMontana, about the exploding health care premiums that Americans would see due to the expiration of the tax credits. As the top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee, Senator Murray ledlegislationsupported by the Democratic caucus that would have addressed the health care crisis during the government shutdown last fall. Senator Murray has also cosponsored multiple pieces of legislation over the past yeartheHealth Care Affordability Actand theProtecting Health Care and Lowering Costs Actthat would make the ACA tax credits permanent.

As then-chair of the Senate Health Committee, Senator Murray played a critical role in passing the ACA enhanced premium tax credits into law in theAmerican Rescue Plan Actin 2021 and extending them in theInflation Reduction Actin 2022.

ABOUT TRUMP'S MEDICAID CUTS:

Nationwide, the Republican health care cuts represent a more than $400 billion hit to America's hospitalswith one estimate finding that over 170 rural hospitals will likely be forced to close or scale back their services, which will force more Americans to travel further for maternity care and emergency room visits, and face longer wait times. Washington state is one of the states most at-risk, with 22 hospitals at-risk of closing or reducing services. An estimated 477,000 health workers will lose their jobs as a result of the Republican cuts to Medicaid. Senator Murray has consistently advocated for rural health care access across the state, hosting numerous events to emphasize the importance of investment into rural communities.

Hospitals in Washington state could lose at least $662 million in Medicaid revenue every year under OBBBAforcing hospitals to lay off staff, cut services, or close their doors entirely. Overall, Washington state is expected to lose between $31 billion and $51 billion in federal Medicaid dollars over the next decade. In 2024, Washington had an uninsured rate of 4.8 percentthe lowest in the countrybut the Republican bill is expected to balloon that number into the double digits.

In Washington state, nearly 2 million peopleroughly 1 in 5are enrolled in Apple Health, the state's Medicaid program. Washington's 4th Congressional District has the highest Medicaid enrollment in Washington state, with nearly 300,000 people38 percent of all residentsreliant on Apple Health, including 70 percent of all children in the state.