WA residents shopping for health insurance hit with sticker shock

People in Washington who buy health insurance from the Affordable Care Act exchange are bracing for significant hikes to their premiums in 2026.

On Tuesday, the state health insurance marketplace, Washington Healthplanfinder, launched a tool that allows residents to browse plans for the coming year. The portal shows that premiums for many will jump due to higher health care costs and the expiration of tax credits that have kept prices down for years.

Maya Tussing, a small business owner based in Woodinville, looked up the monthly cost of her plan next year around noon on Tuesday. She and her husband currently pay around $1,100 a month for a bronze plan that covers the couple and their 17-year-old daughter. In 2026, the same plan will cost over $2,100 per month — a $12,000 increase over the entire year.

That's steep,"said Tussing. In preparation for the jump, she and her husband are trying to take on more work and to cut existing costs. "There's only so much you can do."

Insurance companies began forecasting higher premiums earlier this year, projecting that rates would increase an average of over 20% across Washington.

Price increases are driven in large part by the pending expiration of a crucial subsidy known as "enhanced premium tax credits." The credits function as discounts for middle-income households buying insurance on their own. Introduced during the height of the pandemic, they're slated to expire at the end of the year, unless extended by Congress.

The credits have become a central issue for Democratic lawmakers, who have rallied around including their extension in the budget act as a condition of their support for reopening the government. The federal government is about to enter its fourth week of a shutdown that has shuttered key agencies and led to funding cuts across the country.

"Congress can end this crisis if House Republicans return to D.C. and negotiate in good faith on a path forward to reopen the government and address health care costs," wrote U.S Representative Suzan DelBene, of Washington.

Some Republicans have expressed openness to extending the credits, but refuse to do so without funding the government first, while others oppose an extension.

More than 216,000 people in Washington who get coverage through the ACA marketplace are eligible for the tax credits, according to Washington Health Benefit Exchange, the entity that operates the state marketplace. The tax credits save Washingtonians an average of $1,330 per year in premium costs. If the credits expire as scheduled, people will see higher premiums and an estimated 80,000 people will choose to go uninsured, according to projections published by the exchange.

People typically buy health insurance on their own because they don't qualify for coverage through an employer or public programs such as Medicare and Medicaid.

Rebecca Staffel, a freelance marketing consultant in Ballard, currently pays slightly under $400 a month for a bronze health plan offered by LifeWise covering herself and her husband. Without the help of the tax credits this year, her monthly premium would have been over $1,600 a month, she said.

On Tuesday morning, Staffel browsed the state health insurance marketplace and was shocked to see that her monthly premium will increase to over $2,100 next year.

"It's pretty awful," said Staffel. "We can't do that."

The only cheaper option available would still cost around $2,000 a month, according to her search on Tuesday. Switching to another insurer would likely mean having to find new doctors.

Staffel and her husband are trying to get all of their checkups, including visits with specialists and annual vaccinations, scheduled before the end of the year. They're contemplating their options, including going without insurance.

"We feel fortunate that we're healthy," she said. "We can think about gambling."

Being able to afford health insurance has made freelancing an option for Staffel. Her husband previously owned a bike shop but retired this year at 63. He’s just under the age of eligibility for Medicare.

At this point, Staffel has assumed that the tax credits will not be extended.

What happens if Congress decides to extend the credits after people have already committed to a health plan in 2026? That's unclear at the moment.

Still, Ingrid Ulrey, CEO of the Washington Health Benefit Exchange, emphasized that it wasn't too late for Congress to extend the credits and that the exchange would act quickly to reduce premiums as soon as any legislation is passed.

"We stand ready to pass that relief onto our customers, Ulrey said.

The Washington exchange plans to send out renewal notices to customers in the final week of October. Open enrollment begins Nov. 1 and runs through Jan. 15.

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