TOMORROW: Washington Healthplanfinder To Launch “Window Shopping” Period, Letting Health Insurance Shoppers See How Much Premiums Will Jump in 2026

TOMORROW: Washington Healthplanfinder To Launch "Window Shopping" Period, Letting Health Insurance Shoppers See How Much Premiums Will Jump in 2026

Starting Nov. 1, Washingtonians who purchase their own health insurance will start locking in higher new rates due to the GOP's refusal to negotiate an extension of the Enhanced Premium Tax Credit; Cantwell: "They face an impossible choice: Pay hundreds or even thousands of dollars more next year for the exact same plan, downgrade their coverage, or forego health insurance altogether."

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Tomorrow, Washington Healthplanfinder - the resource for people in Washington state who purchase their own health insurance, such as small business owners or freelancers - will make updated premium rates available to the public ahead of the Nov. 1 start of the open enrollment period. For many Washingtonians, this "window shopping" period will result in sticker shock, as the expiration of the Enhanced Premium Tax Credit will dramatically increase premium costs in 2026.

"The window-shopping period for purchasing health insurance on Washington Healthplanfinder is beginning and unfortunately Washingtonians are going to see skyrocketing premiums statewide. They face an impossible choice: Pay hundreds or even thousands of dollars more next year for the exact same plan, downgrade their coverage, or forego health insurance altogether," said Sen. Cantwell. "Families are still reeling from sky-high inflation on everyday expenses like electricity, housing, and groceries. Congress must act immediately to extend the expiring Affordable Care Act tax credits or healthcare will be added to their list of financial burdens."

On Friday, Sen. Cantwell released a new data analysis showing a county-by-county breakdown where of Washingtonians will be hit hardest if Republicans continue refusing to negotiate an extension of the Enhanced Premium Tax Credit, which helps make health insurance more affordable for people who purchase coverage on the open market.

A one-pager on the data can be viewed HERE.

The breakdown shows how many people eligible for the credits live in each county and how many of those people received the Enhanced Premium Tax Credit in 2025 as both a raw number and a percentage of the under-age-65 county population. The breakdown also indicates how much health care premiums will spike next year if the White House and Congressional majority continue to refuse address the healthcare affordability crisis or extend these crucial tax credits.

According to the data, there are seven counties where the average health insurance premium is set to more than double next year assuming the Enhanced Premium Tax Credit is allowed to lapse. All seven of these hardest-hit counties are in rural regions east of the Cascades: Yakima, Grant, Adams, Franklin, Douglas, Chelan, and Ferry counties.

Statewide, approximately 1 in 30 Washingtonians (3.33%) received Enhanced Premium Tax Credits this year. San Juan County had the highest percentage of recipients (11.39%).

At 12 a.m. on Oct. 1, the deadline for Congress to pass a new budget bill expired, triggering a federal government shutdown. Republican lawmakers refused to negotiate with Democrats on extending the Enhanced Premium Tax Credits under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) - the primary request of Democrats that would help reverse healthcare costs set to spike due to policy choices made in President Donald Trump's Big Ugly Bill - and fell short of the 60 votes needed to pass a new budget. Unless Congress acts urgently, Americans who purchase coverage on the open market will end up locked into new unaffordable rates in 2026. For nearly all states, the open enrollment period begins on Nov. 1 (with the exception of Idaho, which began on Oct. 15).

Sen. Cantwell, who serves as a senior member of the Senate Finance Committee and ranking member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, delivered a speech on the Senate floor taking her Republican colleagues to task.

"You have no ideas on how you are going to help keep people insured, or keep these hospitals operating. So instead of meaningful negotiations, my colleagues have decided they don't want to tell us what their ideas are to deal with the current crisis. It is not a next year problem, it is a today problem," Sen. Cantwell said in her Oct. 1 speech.

Video of that speech is available HERE; a transcript is HERE.

Last month, Sen. Cantwell released a snapshot report detailing the drastic increase in how much Americans who purchase health insurance on the open market will pay next year. The snapshot report, which included information on premium increases across all 50 states and the District of Columbia, found that the health insurance companies with the largest market share in 29 states will or propose to charge at least 20% more per month for care - further squeezing Americans already facing an affordability crisis. Health premiums typically rise every year, but this year's increases are expected to be much larger than last year's. This report found that in 20 states, the state's top exchange plan insurer is requesting, or has already been granted, a rate increase for 2026 that's at least 20 percentage points higher than the rate change that same insurer was approved for in 2025.

READ MORE: The Spokesman-Review: With government shutdown imminent, Cantwell highlights Democrats' key demand: Stopping sharp increase in health insurance costs

Sen. Cantwell also sent a letter to President Donald Trump, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries last week urging them to act before the open enrollment period begins.

The full snapshot report is available HERE; the full text of Sen. Cantwell's letter to President Trump and Congressional leadership is HERE.