On Monday, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee signed into law the nation’s first “public option” health plan, to be sold on the state’s individual health insurance exchange, starting during next year’s open enrollment period. Inslee, who is also a candidate for the Democratic Presidential nomination, characterized the new plan as a “way for our state to push back” on the Trump administration’s efforts to roll back the Affordable Care Act (ACA).
The plan, called Cascade Care, is not quite the same as a true, government-run plan of the type proposed by some during the drafting of the ACA; rather, it creates a category of private insurance plans that will cap provider and facility rates at 160 percent of Medicare reimbursement, with the goal of lowering premiums for consumers who shop on Washington’s insurance marketplace.
The public option plan is meant to exert competitive pressure on other plans in the market in an attempt to drive premiums down, but experts expect the new plan to produce only a modest 5-10 percent savings for consumers. In 2018, average premiums on Washington’s exchange rose 38 percent, resulting in lower overall enrollment levels. Other states, including Colorado and Connecticut, are considering similar “public option” plans.
It’s notable that Washington’s approach is explicitly built around reducing payment to hospitals and doctors—any serious efforts to lower premiums will almost certainly have the same impact.
As the politics of healthcare continue to heat up, we’d expect more such proposals to gain traction across the country.
HENRY KOTULA 