Washington state health exchange is working again

SEATTLE — Washington state’s health insurance exchange was back up and running Sunday after shutting down for a day because of a glitch involving tax credit calculations.

Officials shut down Washington Healthplanfinder soon after open enrollment began Saturday because its quality control team reported that the system wasn’t receiving correct 2015 tax credit information from the state Department of Social and Health Services.

Engineers spent the day fixing the problem and then tested the fix throughout the evening to make sure it worked, exchange chief executive Richard Onizuka said in a new release. At 8 a.m. Sunday, the system was working properly.

ADVERTISEMENT
0 seconds of 0 secondsVolume 0%
Press shift question mark to access a list of keyboard shortcuts
00:00
00:00
00:00
 

“Consumers expect to be selecting and purchasing health coverage with the correct information,” Onizuka said. “While we recognize that this Saturday was an inconvenience, being able to provide correct information to our customers is paramount to what we do.”

About 2,000 people were using the exchange each hour during the two hours before it shut down Saturday. The exchange identified fewer than 800 customers who had their eligibility determined incorrectly and fewer than 150 hundred customers who had scheduled payment based on incorrect information.

“We will be contacting each person to provide them with their accurate tax credit amount,” Onizuka said.

The speed with which officials uncovered the problem prevented thousands of consumers from running into issues with their applications, he said.

Open enrollment for health care insurance continues through Feb. 15, and officials hope as many as 85,000 people sign up in Washington state this season. They also hope all of the about 145,000 people who bought insurance during the first open enrollment period, which began Oct. 1, 2013, will renew for another year.

Those who run the exchange had been hoping their computer system would handle traffic better than it did last year, when it shut down and rejected applications for reasons like a hyphen in a last name. About a thousand people who bought insurance the first time around are still having problems getting their payments credited and that money transferred to their insurance companies.

People who do not buy insurance will have to pay a fine when they file their income taxes. Those fines start at $95 or 1 percent of 2014 household income, but the minimum fine in 2015 will be $325 per uninsured person or 2 percent of household income.

Consumers will find more choices this time around, with more insurance plans and more companies on the state’s exchange. Rates have gone up slightly overall, but some people will find cheaper insurance.

———

Online:

Washington Healthplanfinder: www.wahealthplanfinder.org

For help, sign-up events and information: http://wahbexchange.org

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

City of Everett Engineer Tom Hood, left, and City of Everett Engineer and Project Manager Dan Enrico, right, talks about the current Edgewater Bridge demolition on Friday, May 9, 2025 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
How do you get rid of a bridge? Everett engineers can explain.

Workers began dismantling the old Edgewater Bridge on May 2. The process could take one to two months, city engineers said.

Smoke from the Bolt Creek fire silhouettes a mountain ridge and trees just outside of Index on Sept. 12, 2022. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
County will host two wildfire-preparedness meetings in May

Meetings will allow community members to learn wildfire mitigation strategies and connect with a variety of local and state agencies.

Helion's 6th fusion prototype, Trenta, on display on Tuesday, July 9, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Helion celebrates smoother path to fusion energy site approval

Helion CEO applauds legislation signed by Gov. Bob Ferguson expected to streamline site selection process.

Vehicles travel along Mukilteo Speedway on Sunday, April 21, 2024, in Mukilteo, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Mukilteo cameras go live to curb speeding on Speedway

Starting Friday, an automated traffic camera system will cover four blocks of Mukilteo Speedway. A 30-day warning period is in place.

Carli Brockman lets her daughter Carli, 2, help push her ballot into the ballot drop box on the Snohomish County Campus on Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Here’s who filed for the primary election in Snohomish County

Positions with three or more candidates will go to voters Aug. 5 to determine final contenders for the Nov. 4 general election.

Students from Explorer Middle School gather Wednesday around a makeshift memorial for Emiliano “Emi” Munoz, who died Monday, May 5, after an electric bicycle accident in south Everett. (Aspen Anderson / The Herald)
Community and classmates mourn death of 13-year-old in bicycle accident

Emiliano “Emi” Munoz died from his injuries three days after colliding with a braided cable.

Danny Burgess, left, and Sandy Weakland, right, carefully pull out benthic organisms from sediment samples on Thursday, May 1, 2025 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
‘Got Mud?’ Researchers monitor the health of the Puget Sound

For the next few weeks, the state’s marine monitoring team will collect sediment and organism samples across Puget Sound

Snohomish County deputy prosecutor Robert Grant gestures during closing arguments in the retrial of Encarnacion Salas on Sept. 16, 2019, in Everett.
Lynnwood appoints first municipal court commissioner

The City Council approved the new position last year to address the court’s rising caseload.

A heavily damaged Washington State Patrol vehicle is hauled away after a crash killed a trooper on southbound I-5 early Saturday, March 2, 2024, in Marysville, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Trial to begin in case of driver charged in trooper’s death

Defense motion over sanctuary law violation rejected ahead of jury selection.

Dick’s Drive-In announces opening date for new Everett location

The new drive-in will be the first-ever for Everett and the second in Snohomish County.

The peaks of Mount Pilchuck, left, and Liberty Mountain, right, are covered in snow on Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2025 in Lake Stevens, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Take Snohomish County’s climate resiliency survey before May 23

The survey will help the county develop a plan to help communities prepare and recover from climate change impacts.

x
Edmonds to host public budget workshops

City staff will present property tax levy scenarios for the November ballot at the two events Thursday.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.