Premium Assistance

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Making health insurance affordable for low-income patients

The Project Access Northwest Premium Assistance Sponsorship Program is designed for Washington State residents who are not eligible for Apple Health (Medicaid) or Medicare. While these individuals are eligible to purchase private health insurance on the Washington Health Benefits Exchange, paying the premiums is a financial hardship.

What is Premium Assistance Sponsorship?

Premium Assistance is a program of Project Access Northwest in partnership with hospital systems and other community partners to help ensure that low-income individuals have health insurance that is affordable. The number served yearly is based on the amount of funding committed to the program. To date, 773 households have been covered!

Current Premium Assistance funders include:

CHI Franciscan Health
MultiCare Health System
Providence Health & Services

Who is eligible for Premium Assistance?

To enroll in this program, you must:

Be a Washington state resident who lives at or below 300 percent of the Federal Poverty Level.

Be eligible to purchase a Qualified Health Plan in the Washington Health Benefits Exchange.
If approved, choose a Silver level Plan and agree to apply all Tax Credits offered.
Be referred to Project Access Northwest by one of our Premium Assistance partners.
Agree to share information available to the Exchange as well as all copies of information sent by the Exchange with Project Access Northwest.
Update your eligibility information, such as income and family size, on the Exchange throughout the policy year.
File federal income taxes to qualify for a tax subsidy. (If married, file jointly.)

How does Premium Assistance Sponsorship work?

A Washington state resident (not eligible for Apple Health/Medicaid or Medicare) looks for individual health insurance on the Health Benefit Exchange.
Unfortunately, the individual finds the cost is a significant barrier to enrolling and cannot afford the premiums.
The individual is referred to the Premium Assistance program by one of the funding partners.
The Premium Assistance Program determines that the person is eligible for support and meets all program criteria.
Project Access Northwest staff work with the individual to enroll. The Premium Assistance Program pays all premiums (one policy year) for the Silver Level Plan the individual chooses.