Health insurance going up for self-employed Washington residents

Washington residents who are self-employed or recently retired will pay much higher prices in 2027 if they want to keep health insurance.

Those people who rely on insurance exchanges, which also include employers with less than 50 employees, are expected to face an average of 22.2% higher premiums than they paid in 2026, according to the Washington state Office of Insurance Commissioner.

The vast majority of state residents enrolled in private health insurance plans receive their coverage through their employers. The exchanges are used by about 250,000 rate payers to maintain health insurance….

Some 13% fewer people used the exchanges in Washington state in 2026 than the previous year. That was the largest drop in enrollment since 2012, due in part to the decision not to extend the Enhanced Premium Tax credits last year, Kurderer said in the release.

Those tax credits had helped enrollees cut their annual premium costs by about $1,330, meaning that the self-employed and recent retirees had to bear those added costs.

VanTuyl noted that many of those who kept insurance through the exchanges are those who need health care the most.

“The assumption is that people are looking at their bottom line and are deciding, ‘I’m young and healthy and I probably won’t need insurance’ are more likely to roll the dice than those who may require medical attention at some point,” he said.

U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash. criticized her colleagues across the aisle for letting the tax credits expire.

“This massive rate increase is a direct result of the health care crisis that Republicans have created by prioritizing billionaires over American families,” Murray said in a news release. “Costs are skyrocketing while patients are losing health coverage – and it didn’t have to be this way.”

She noted that the projected increase for 2027 follows a nearly identical 21% increase in 2026. A family of four in Washington state who earns $130,000 saw their average annual premium go up by $12,392, costing them a total of $23,442 a year, Murray said.

She also noted that hospital and clinics in Washington face $160 million less in federal funding while dealing with a 5.6% spike in uncompensated care. As a result, some 37 hospitals, clinics and nursing homes have announced cuts to service, have closed or are closing.

Read the full article. By Thomas Clouse, Spkesman-Review 9/10/26