Insurance Report

By JoNel Aleccia
Staff writer

If Spokane had the highest health insurance premiums in the nation, it wouldn't surprise Penny Arter.

Even though she's a working registered nurse, Arter has no health coverage for herself, her husband or their 5-year-old son, Logan. At $600 a month, the premiums just cost too much, the Spokane woman said.

As it turns out, though, Spokane's rates might be high, but they're not nearly as high as they seemed in a survey that generated national buzz. Abridged results of the annual survey by eHealthInsurance of 5,000 plans from 140 providers in 100 U.S. cities were printed Sunday in the Parade magazine newspaper insert.

In the report, Spokane was tapped as the nation's least affordable city for health insurance premiums, with a cost of $962 a month. It ranked far behind the leader, Grand Rapids, Mich., with a $159.06 a month premium, and behind number 34, Jacksonville, Fla., with a premium of $286.55. Spokane even fell behind Seattle, where the rate was logged at $617 a month.

But, using the survey's own methods and parameters, a quick scan of the eHealthInsurance Web site Monday showed the lowest premium available in Spokane was $304 a month. In Grand Rapids it was $217.96 a month and in Jacksonville, it was $402.20 a month.

One reason that Spokane and Seattle have higher premiums is that Washington is a state with community rating regulations that prohibit discrimination against insurance clients based on health status, health history or health risk.

In such states, the rates for younger people might be higher than in non-community-rated states, but the rates for older people would be lower.