A half million Washingtonians currently get high quality, affordable health insurance through association health plans. As AWB president Don Brunell points out in the Columbian, Washington’s plans grew out of the health care reform debates in the early 1990s. Today, these plans allow small businesses to offer comprehensive insurance to their employees. Yet, despite their proven worth, they’re at risk. Brunell explains:

Association plans offer guaranteed issue and renewal, and comply with all state and federal laws. Nonetheless, they are in jeopardy because Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler insists on imposing restrictions far beyond those called for in the federal health reform law — even though the agency admits it has no authority to do so.

Ironically, in a fiscal note, Kreidler acknowledged that association health plans are more affordable than other plans — but then argued against keeping them because the state will net less revenue in premium taxes.

The state’s looking for more money because of the new health care exchange, which will require tax support of about $50 million a year, Brunell reports. (For more on the health care exchange, see this Washington Research Council policy brief.)

So let’s see if I have this right. To generate tax money to provide health insuracne through the state run health care exchange, the insurance commissioner would eliminate an option that currently provides affordable health insurance to hundreds of thousands of Washingtonians and impose a higher cost, more restrictive regimen on businesses and their employees. There’s more detail in Don’s concise column, which I encourage you to read.

Then ask yourself, and your legislators: Whatever happened to “if you like your health care plan you can keep your health care plan?”