Blog

How will the revenue and caseload forecasts affect the supplemental budget?

As Kriss wrote yesterday, a new revenue forecast has been approved. This forecast will inform the 2016 supplemental budget. On a near general fund-state plus opportunity pathways (NGFS+) basis, estimated revenues for the current biennium are $37.837 billion — a decrease of $78.2 million from the Nov. 2015 forecast (see page 28 here). The Office […]

Final Washington exchange enrollment numbers not yet clear

Open enrollment for purchasing health care insurance through Washington's exchange ended Sunday. According to the Washington Health Benefit Exchange, "more than 200,000 Washingtonians selected a Qualified Health Plan" during open enrollment. (Unfortunately, the Exchange doesn't provide an exact number, so I can't yet update my enrollment chart.) Also, The number of plans selected is nearly […]

Enrollments in Washington Exchange exceed its goal for the year

New enrollment figures from the Washington Health Benefit Exchange show that it has already exceeded its goal for the open enrollment period (which ends Jan. 31). Through Jan. 2, 173,947 qualified (private) health plans have been selected. Of those, 50,215 are new customers. The Exchange's goal for the entire period is about 160,000. Since the […]

The first qualified health plan numbers for the 2015-16 open enrollment period in Washington are in

The third open enrollment period for qualified (private) health plans (QHP) under the Affordable Care Act began on Nov. 1. Today the Washington Health Benefit Exchange released the first batch of enrollment numbers. Between Nov. 1 and Dec. 1, 123,209 plans were selected. Of those, 10,952 were new enrollees and 112,257 were renewals. According to […]

Increased Medicaid spending a main driver of state spending nationally

Last month the National Association of State Budget Officers (NASBO) released its annual State Expenditure Report, including actual data for fiscal years 2013 and 2014 and estimated numbers for 2015. According to the report, Total state spending increased in fiscal 2015 at its fastest rate since 1992 due to a combination of modest growth in states' […]

WA Exchange goal for 2015-16 open enrollment is 25% less than last year's goal

The third open enrollment period of the Washington Health Benefit Exchange begins Nov. 1. For coverage beginning Jan. 1, 2016, people must purchase coverage by Dec. 23, but the open enrollment period doesn’t end until Jan. 31. Last week I wrote about the most recent enrollment report. Through Sept. 30, 2015, enrollment in qualified (private) […]

Has enrollment in the Washington Health Benefit Exchange plateaued?

A new Washington Health Benefit Exchange enrollment report shows that enrollment in qualified health plans (the private insurance plans offered through the Exchange under the Affordable Care Act) may have plateaued. The headline from the Exchange is “1.5 million Washingtonians Get Covered,” but that is mostly people applying for or renewing Medicaid. Total enrollment in private […]

Global health's impact on state economy

The Washington Global Health Alliance (WGHA) is out with a new “Landscape Study” on the economic impact of Washington-based global health alliances. From the executive summary: “Washington’s global health sector accounts for a growing portion of the state’s total economic activity. Global health organizations in Washington state directly accounted for $5.8 billion in output in 2013, […]

InFocus: Colorado tax limit court case, health exchange funding, Puget Sound manufacturing jobs

Operating budget increases funding for Washington Exchange by $77 million

As enacted by the Legislature, the 2015-17 operating budget increases total budgeted funds for the Washington Health Benefit Exchange (HBE) to $110.0 million for the biennium. This is an increase of $77.0 million over 2013-15, and an increase of $30.0 million over the maintenance level (the cost of continuing current services). The Seattle Times reports, […]