Everett freelancers, sole proprietors and small businesses that buy health insurance through Washington's Affordable Care Act (ACA) exchange face an average 22.2% premium increase starting Jan. 1, 2027.

State Insurance Commissioner Patty Kuderer announced the approved rates Wednesday, Sept. 9.

The increase marks the second straight year of double-digit hikes for the roughly 250,000 Washingtonians who rely on the exchange because they lack employer-sponsored or government coverage. Premiums rose 21% for 2026.

The Washington State Standard reported that 13 insurers had requested an average 22.4% increase. Kuderer is required by law to approve rate requests when the math is actuarially justified.

Increases vary sharply by carrier. Regence BlueShield's roughly 16,000 members face an average 6.7% bump.

Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of Washington's 40,000-plus enrollees will see about 14.1%. Community Health Plan of Washington, with nearly 37,000 members, was approved for a 30.5% increase. Coordinated Care Corporation, the exchange's largest carrier at 98,000 members, faces a hike of more than 25%.

The numbers translate to real household pain. Jim Freeburg, executive director of the Patient Coalition of Washington, told the Washington State Standard in an email that his own family's costs illustrate the problem.

"It's going to cost my wife and I over $36,000 to cover ourselves and our two girls and that's simply unfair for the coverage we'd get," Freeburg said.

Kuderer attributed the increases to rising health care costs and heavier use of services by remaining enrollees. Insurance companies also pointed to the expiration of federal pandemic-era tax credits, which made coverage less affordable and pushed healthier people off their plans, raising costs for those who stayed.

Enrollment is shrinking. Exchange sign-ups in 2026 dropped roughly 36,500 from the prior year, a nearly 13% decline. Kuderer called it "the largest drop in enrollment since the exchange began in 2013" at a Sept. 3 news conference with Gov. Bob Ferguson, as the Seattle Times reported.

Statewide, about 75% of exchange users had benefited from the now-expired enhanced tax credits, according to exchange spokesperson Ilene Stohl, as the Daily Herald reported in January.

The state insurance commissioner approved an average 12.8% increase for small business group plans for 2026 renewals, according to the Economic Alliance of Snohomish County. The 2027 small group rate has not been announced.

The Washington Health Benefit Exchange Board was scheduled to certify the new rates at its Thursday, Sept. 10 meeting. Open enrollment for 2027 coverage runs Nov. 1, 2026, through Jan. 15, 2027.