Uninsured numbers continue to drop in state

The number of people in Washington state without health insurance fell by about 317,000 last year, dropping to 643,000, a continuing trend officials said was largely attributed to the Affordable Care Act.

Overall, the percentage of uninsured in Washington fell from 14 percent in 2013, when 960,000 people lacked insurance, to 9.2 percent in 2014, the U.S. Census Bureau reported. That means that about 91 percent of the population has health coverage, the figures show.

The latest drop is down even further from the 16 percent of the population, or more than 1 million people, who were without insurance in 2012, before the law that requires people to obtain insurance or pay fines took effect.

“If anything, the Census data confirm what we’ve seen since the implementation of the ACA,” said Michael Marchand, director of communications for the Washington Health Benefit Exchange, the state’s insurance marketplace. “Since going live Oct. 1, 2013, we’ve seen a significant drop in those who are uninsured.”

The big driver behind the newly insured has been the expansion of Medicaid through the Washington Apple Health plan. About 500,000 new adults have enrolled in the program since 2013, more than twice the 220,000 originally expected, Marchand said.

Several sources, including officials with the Obama administration, have released figures in the past two years showing steep drops in the number of uninsured, but none is considered as reliable as the Census data.

Nationwide, 10.4 percent of people — or 33 million — remained uninsured last year, a drop of 8.8 million.

The continuing declines in Washington are due in part to work to increase insurance options and keep costs low, said Mike Kreidler, the state insurance commissioner. For 2016, 136 plans from a dozen insurers will be offered through the state exchange with an average rate increase of 4.2 percent, less than the 5.4 percent the companies had requested.

In the Seattle area, the percentage of uninsured fell from 12.4 percent to 8.3 percent between 2013 and 2014, the Census reported. In King County, it dropped from 12 percent to 7.6 percent, while Pierce County fell from 12.8 percent to 9.8 percent and Snohomish County decreased from 12.9 percent to 8.8 percent during the year, data showed.

Many of the newly insured were among the 164,000 now enrolled in Washington’s health exchanges as of August, Marchand said.