Washington Basic Required to Cut Enrollment

Washington Basic Health which is a state-sponsored program to help eligible Washington residents pay for health care using income from state subsidies, is feeling the wrath of the troubled economy.

Back in February 2009, Basic Health took the necessary steps to decrease enrollment by only enrolling one new applicant for every 2 applicants that left the plan. The decline in the economy has prompted Basic Health to reduce overall enrollment by 43% for the '09-'11 budget. In '07-'09 Basic Health covered about 107,000 residents and by January 1st of 2010 the enrollment must be within the new budget.

This has created a lengthy waiting list for the plan, but there are numerous groups that are allowed to bypass the waiting list because of their need. Some examples of these groups are Foster parents, personal care workers, and Tribal sponsored accounts. Plans such iCan benefits also provides access to valuable benefits to improve the health of their members.