Affordable Care Act in Washington State

Signing up for Coverage

Under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), Washington residents will have a new way to shop for health insurance through an exchange known as the Washington Health Plan Finder (wahealthplanfinder.org).  Starting October 1st, residents can go to the Health Plan Finder to sign up for coverage.  This site can help you figure out which plans and subsidies you and your family qualify for.  If you are looking for general information, healthcare.gov provides extensive information as well as links to local resources.

If you have questions about how ACA will affect you, your business, or your family, a state-wide call center has been set up to help.  At present, about 100 trained employees are answering calls from 7:30 AM to 8:30 PM Pacific time Monday through Friday.  The number for the call center is 1-855-WAFINDER (1-855-923-4633), or TTY/TTD 1-855-627-9604. 

If you are on Medicare, you will not need to do anything differently.  You will still sign up for coverage during the open enrollment period.  To learn about how the Affordable Care Act has improved Medicare, click here.

The Small Business Administration has resource available for business owners with questions about ACA.  Click here for more information and to sign up for webinars about the ACA and small business.

Additional Resources

In-person assisters are officially trained by the state to help people sign up for health care coverage.  The following link is a map to all of the in-person assisters across the state:  http://wahealthplanfinder.org/map.php. You can also learn the location of in-person assisters by calling the 1-855-923-4633 call center.

In addition, each region of the state has an organization who is taking the lead on implementing the ACA in their area.  These local agencies can provide you with information about in-person assisters and provide you with other local resources.  In the 6th District, our lead organizations are:

• Kitsap:  Kitsap Public Health District (360-337-5235)
• Pierce:  Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department (253-798-6500)
• Mason, Grays Harbor, Jefferson, Clallam:  CHOICE Regional Health Network (360-539-7576)

As always, my staff is here to help guide you if you get stuck or have any questions.  They can be reached at (360) 373-9725.