We’ve been fighting hard on the national level to preserve Affordable Care Act coverage. We are very concerned that residents who need health coverage may think it has gone away as a result of all the negative media coverage. We are also concerned at the loss of federal funds for outreach and enrollment efforts. We need your help to make sure people know that health coverage is available and to help them enroll!
Amid the federal chaos, our state’s health benefit exchange has continued to do great work, making important improvements to www.wahealthplanfinder.org. Open enrollment starts next Wednesday, and Washington residents have always benefited from a highly functional insurance marketplace. Hospitals and health systems have done extraordinary work to enroll patients and families, and we hope to see this happen this year, too!
The Washington Health Benefit Exchange has created great information for providers, and encourages all medical and non-medical staff to know what Washington Healthplanfinder is and how to talk about it. (See this webpage for more provider tips)
There are also two stand-out technical improvements:
- Families looking to pick a plan based on hospitals, doctors and prescriptions will have an easier time of it. The tool is called Smart Planfinder, and it’s integrated with the shopping experience on Washington Healthplanfinder.
- The new mobile app makes it easier to manage documents and notifications, view coverage status and find in-person help.
It’s crucial that hospitals, clinics and other providers help Washington families connect to www.wahealthplanfinder.org. We cannot hope to improve the health of the community if many families in our state live without coverage and access to care.
Thank you for your help,
Cassie Sauer
WSHA President & CEO
cassies@wsha.org
