Washington Basic Budget Update

It is still unclear as of December 2009 whether or not Washington Basic will make it through the year. Basic Health will continue to offer coverage to its enrollees at least until June 30, 2010. The Basic Health Plan has been targeted to be eliminated and it provides health care coverage to about 65,000 individuals which is about $160 million.

To stay within the approved budget Washington Basic Health no longer processes new applications to determine eligibility and has a waiting list. You can still submit applications to be put on the waiting list and there are some groups that can bypass the wait list. These include foster parents, personal care workers, health coverage tax credit, tribal sponsored accounts, Washington National Guard or Reserves, some maternity applicants, and former Basic Health members who stopped coverage because of Medicaid coverage and who have since lost that coverage. They have to notify Basic Health within 30 days.

Carolina Health Insurance also is affected by the economy and budget cuts are happening throughout the company. See how your health benefits may have been affected and if anything major has changed.