Washington’s 2027 Exchange Rates Are Approved: Up 22.2%

Updated

We have an updated review of approved rates from the OIC and examining the impact on employers.

Original article:

Washington has approved an average 22.2% rate increase for 2027 Exchange health insurance plans. Twelve insurers received approval. For people already struggling to afford coverage, the final decision offers little relief.

In our May 28, 2026 update, we covered insurers’ average 22.4% request. The approved average is just 0.2 percentage points lower. A few tenths off an increase this large won’t do much for a household budget.

These are individual-market rates for people buying their own coverage, including through Washington Healthplanfinder. They aren’t employer group rates or BHT renewal rates. The small-group filings in our May article are separate. But rising prices for medical care and prescriptions affect both markets, which makes this news relevant to employers, too.

What insurers requested and what was approved

Eleven of the 12 approved insurers have average increases of at least 10%. Six exceed 20%. The increases range from 6.7% to 30.5%, so the pressure extends well beyond one or two carriers.

Source: Washington Office of the Insurance Commissioner. Some listed insurers sell individual plans both on and off the Exchange. Asuris Northwest Health, which sells only off the Exchange, requested 14.9% and remained pending in the announcement; it’s excluded here.

The review moved seven carriers above their original requests and five below. Community Health Plan of Washington rose from 24.5% requested to 30.5% approved; Coordinated Care fell from 27.8% to 25.2%. OIC says the approved rates were supported by insurers’ projected costs and coverage needs, and that state law requires approval when increases are justified.

Last year’s increase is still in the bill

In September 2025, we reported the approved 21% average increase for 2026. Now comes 22.2% for 2027. That’s two consecutive years above 20%, with each increase building on an already higher starting point.

To illustrate the compounding: a hypothetical $500 monthly premium rising 21% would become $605. Another 22.2% would bring it to $739.31. That’s 47.9% above the original premium, or about $2,872 more per year.

This illustrates the math, not a measured increase for a particular household. The statewide averages reflect changing enrollment and plan mixes, and financial assistance can substantially change what someone actually pays.

Higher costs, fewer people covered

OIC identifies four main forces behind the 2027 increase:

• Higher prices: Medical services and prescription drugs cost more.
• More expensive care: Members are using more services, including higher-cost treatments.
• A changing mix of members: Healthier people leaving coverage raises the average cost of caring for those who remain.
• Less financial help: The enhanced federal premium tax credits expired at the end of 2025, making coverage harder to afford and contributing to those departures.

Our September 2025 article discussed the risk of those enhanced credits expiring. Now the Exchange’s May 2026 enrollment report documents nearly 250,000 people with paid individual-plan coverage, about 13% fewer than a year earlier. That doesn’t tell us how many became uninsured, but it confirms a substantial decline in Exchange enrollment.

The cycle is troubling: coverage gets harder to afford, healthier people leave, and covering the remaining members becomes more expensive. Higher premiums can then put coverage further out of reach.

What this means if you buy your own coverage

The 22.2% headline isn’t your personal renewal quote. Your plan, age, location and financial assistance all affect your bill. Regular federal tax credits and state assistance remain available to eligible customers, even though the enhanced federal credits expired.

Employers have reason to act, too

Employer coverage faces its own cost pressures. An August 31, 2026 survey update published by Mercer projects an 8.2% average increase in total health benefit costs per employee for 2027, even after employers’ planned cost reductions. Those preliminary national findings update the 2026 outlook we cited in May; they aren’t a forecast for an individual Washington employer.

Business Health Trust helps Washington’s small and mid-sized employers respond with group purchasing power, plan choices, broker collaboration and support with enrollment and billing. Keeping benefits affordable also means helping employees access care in ways that reduce what they and their health plans spend.

That’s one reason BHT includes Nice Healthcare with most medical plans. Nice provides primary care, mental health therapy, physical therapy and covered prescriptions through a service separate from insurance.

Across 10 top employer groups using Nice, BHT’s estimates total:

• $119,213 in avoided insurance claims costs for care that would otherwise have been billed through health insurance.
• $37,358 in employee savings on visit and prescription copays.

These estimates aren’t annualized or a guarantee of other groups’ results. Avoided claims can help reduce spending pressure, but they don’t translate dollar for dollar into employer premium savings or determine the next renewal.

Put your next renewal under scrutiny. Ask your broker to compare BHT options, the total cost to your business and employees, and the care benefits included. If your plan already includes Nice, use our employee communication and orientation resources to help your team put it to work.

You shouldn’t have to navigate another year of increases alone. Bring BHT your benefits questions and request a quote.