Washington's Health Care Authority is moving forward with creating a health insurance exchange, even as the federal health care law heads for review by the U.S. Supreme Court.
There are plenty of questions that will need to be answered as part of the process, but AWB President Don Brunell writes about a fundamental one in his weekly column: Will the state exchange protect choice or reduce it?
The decisions the authority makes will either protect the private insurance market or reduce choice and put private insurers out of business, Brunell writes.
If the Health Care Authority members limits the insurance carriers can participate in the exchange, that will reduce choice. If they limit the types of health plans those companies can offer, that will restrict choice. If they compel insurers to participate in the exchange as a condition of operating in Washington state, that will reduce choice.
"These are all options under consideration," Brunell writes.
Make your voice heard -- send comments and suggestions to the Health Care Authority in Olympia, and tell your state legislator how you want Washington's exchange crafted.