Washington Healthplanfinder is one of the fourteen health insurance marketplaces in the United States and was created in accordance with the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, commonly referred to as Obamacare.
Individuals who sign up may also obtain subsidies from the state that cover a portion of the insurance premiums in accordance with Obamacare.
[1] This legislation's strong governance model and public-private structure provided an innovative approach that other states would adopt in creating their own exchanges.
The Exchange is responsible for the creation of Washington Healthplanfinder, the online portal to facilitate the shopping and enrolling in health and dental insurance.
[citation needed] A substantial amount of the grant funding was used to develop the IT system critical to determining eligibility for and enrolling residents in health plans.
The Exchange sustainability is tied to three funding sources established in statute: (1) the existing 2 percent tax on health insurance premiums sold through Washington Healthplanfinder; (2) reimbursement for activities performed on behalf of Washington Apple Health (the state's Medicaid program), and; (3) an agreed upon carrier assessment.