Washington Announces 2023 Apparently Success Bidders for Cascade Care Public Option
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Upshot
Washington selected three “apparently successful bidders” to offer the Cascade Select public option plan for plan year 2023. The three carriers are Community Health Plan of Washington, Coordinated Care Corporation, and LifeWise Health Plan of Washington. Regarding next steps, the Office of the Insurance Commissioner (OIC) will review and approve the health plan filings, the Washington Health Care Authority (HCA) will execute contract negotiations and final review, and the Washington Health Benefit Exchange Board of Directors will certify the plan offerings by September.
The three ASBs would offer Cascade Select public option plans across 34 of the state’s 39 counties. Ninety-eight percent of Exchange customers would have access to at one least public option plan offering. The new policy, effective for plan year 2023, requiring large hospital systems to contract with Cascade Select public option plans if a public option plan was not available in the county in the previous year, is a driving factor for the increased reach of Cascade Select. The five counties where Cascade Select will not be available are exempted from the new requirement, because carriers offered Cascade Select in these counties in 2022.
Overall, in the third year of offering public option plans, the Cascade Select public option silver plan is the lowest available silver option for each of the insurance carriers. Beginning 2023, a subsidy program will be available to individuals with incomes up to 250 percent of the federal poverty level and enrolled in silver or gold plan.
Analysis
Public Option Apparently Successful Bidders
On July 1, 2022, the Washington Health Care Authority (HCA) selected three “apparently successful bidders” (ASB) to offer the Cascade Select public option plan for plan year 2023. The ASBs are Community Health Plan of Washington, Coordinated Care Corporation, and LifeWise Health Plan of Washington.
Geographic Availability
The HCA details that through this competitive procurement process, the Cascade Select public option plan will now be available in 34 counties, which is an increase from the 25 counties in 2022, pending final approval. Additionally, 98 percent of Exchange customers would have access to a Cascade Select plan and the public option rates will be the lowest-premium silver plan in 25 counties. There are no Cascade Select public option plans available in Clallam, Columbia, Garfield, Grays Harbor, and Lincoln counties for the 2023 plan year, but the public option has been offered in these counties in previous plan years. This expansion of public option availability is attributable to the 2021 legislation that requires hospitals system to contract with public option plans in counties that did not have a public option plan available in the previous plan year, beginning in 2023.
Premiums
In the third year of offering public option plans in Washington, the standardized public option plans (SP) are the least expensive silver plan option compared to standardized non-public option silver plans (SN) and non-standardized silver plans (NS). The 2021 legislation also established a state-funded premium assistance program, beginning in 2023, that would provide premium subsidies to individuals with incomes up to 250 percent of the federal poverty level and are enrolled in a silver or gold standard plan, of which public option plans are. The table below details the average monthly silver premiums provided in the proposed rate filings for 2023.
Next Steps
The Office of the Insurance Commissioner (OIC) will review and approve all health plan filings. Following the approval of the plans, the HCA will conduct contract negotiations with each plan issuer and conduct a final review. Finally, the Health Benefit Exchange Board will certify plan offerings. Final certification typically occurs sometime in September.