Washington State Seeks to Regulate Individual Health Insurance Rates

The Washington Department of Insurance announced this week that the Insurance Commissioner will again request legislation to restore his ability to regulate rates for individual health insurance.

According to the reports, insurance carriers say individual plans don't need to be regulated because there's no problem. However, the commissioner points out that many consumers are seeing rate increases as a problem.

The authority to regulate the individual market was revoked back in 2000, when a pledge was made with the carriers. In exchange for the pledge, the carriers agreed to stay in the market.

The pledge included: The health carriers were allowed to off-load the sickest eight percent of applicants to the state's high risk pool. The pre-existing condition waiting period grew from three months to nine. Health carriers can replace a product on 90 days' notice. Insurance Commissioner lost authority to review rates.

Eight years have passed since this law took effect and the commissioner says that last year, the largest insurer filed an average 19 percent increase. If the state regulates rates there may be more affordable health insurance.