On January 15, 2021, the Washington State Health Care Authority issued a final report from the Universal Health Care Work Group to the legislature, as required by House bill 19-1109. The legislature convened the Work Group to study and provide recommendations regarding how to create, implement, maintain, and fund a universal health care system in the state. The Work Group included a variety of stakeholders with expertise in health care financing and delivery.

On November 30, 2020 the Washington Health Benefit Exchange opened the public comment period for the 2022 draft standard plan designs as required by the authorizing legislation for Cascade Care.

The Health Care Authority (HCA) has successfully completed contracting with five carriers that will offer the newly created Cascade Care public option plans in 19 counties.

Gov. Jay Inslee announced today five insurance carriers have applied to offer public option plans in a majority of counties across the state. The first year of Cascade Care, the public option program, begins later this year with plans to start coverage on Jan. 1, 2021.

The Exchange will feature Cascade Care health plans this fall, including the nation’s first public option health insurance plans. The number of Cascade Care applicants demonstrates that Washington continues to be a stable and attractive market for health insurance carriers.

A Washington state-sponsored health insurance plan intended to be a step toward universal health care while lowering consumer costs is facing resistance from providers and hospitals that are hemorrhaging revenue because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The Cascade Care plan would offer standardized benefits on the individual market beginning in January 2021 through the state’s online insurance exchange. The plan seeks to contain costs by capping reimbursement to providers at an average of 160% of Medicare rates.

Last spring, Washington became the first state to green-light a public option — Cascade Care — a government-sponsored health insurance plan that would compete with private plans on the state health-insurance exchange. Washington’s plan is to contract with at least one private insurer to offer a plan with proscribed benefits and limits to out-of-pocket costs by January 2021.

On Wednesday afternoon, Gov. Jay Inslee was joined by a group of legislators, patients, and state health leaders to discuss the roll-out of the Legislature’s recently passed public option

Gov. Jay Inslee on Monday signed into law a bill that creates a public option for Washington’s health benefit exchange, a move intended to lower costs and boost insurance coverage across the state.

Sponsored by Democratic lawmakers and requested by Inslee, Senate Bill 5526 creates “Cascade Care,” a program to offer standardized plans for individual health coverage, to be offered by private insurers on the benefit exchange.