Personal professional enrollment support is available for all of the benefit plans listed on this page. Send your question by e-mail for fast OnlineAdviser response. Limited telephone support (800) 609-0683. Office hours posted daily on Twitter @FreedomBenefits   Most Liberal Eligibility Value Emergency Room - add $1,000 additional emergency room coverage for $1 per day for the whole family Most Affordable Value Emergency Room - add $1,000 additional emergency room coverage for $1 per day for the whole family Long Term Major Medical Regence Blue Shield Dental Insurance Secure DentalOne - one lifetime deductible of $100 and then up to $1,250 per year coverage Online Life Insurance Great Start Child Life Insurance - inexpensive permanent insurance that can be gifted by parents and grandparents Guarantee Trust term life Insurance - fast, easy and inexpensive online term insurance coverage up to $250,000 International Term Life - up to $2 million coverage issued by Lloyds online specifically for those who spend time outside of the US Simple whole life insurance - the fastest way to get affordable permanent coverage up to $50,000. Online underwriting, no exam. Smart term life insurance - up to $500,000 coverage from HSBC without an exam or blood test Smart term life insurance - up to $500,000 coverage directly online without an exam or blood test QuoteIntelligence Term life insurance - find the lowest rates, compare features & eligibility requirements and then apply online with the best insurance companies in less than 30 seconds.

Washington state health insurance exchange Washington has several commercial managed care providers and 10 small group health insurance plans as well as the state-sponsored Washington State Health Insurance Pool (WSHIP) health plan for residents who are not accepted into the commercial health plans. These standard health insurance plans may not be affordable to all residents. This Web page lists some of the most popular low cost commercial health insurance plans and related benefits. All of these policies offer secure online enrollment and professional OnlineAdviser personal enrollment support. Please note that while many of these choices could be included in more than one of the suggested usage categories, each plan is listed only once for the sake of brevity. Your enrollment adviser is available to discuss suitability of any plan for your specific situation. Washington insurance & benefit news Washington had the 12th highest health insurance costs of all states in 2008 with an average family premium of $13,036 per year. (The average annual premium for a U.S. family covered under an employer-sponsored health plan in 2008 was $12,298 according to The Commonwealth Fund report. The overall quality of health care ranked 16th out of the 51 states (including DC). Washington is somewhat unique among states in that most health plans available to individuals in Washington are managed care plans or Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs). None of the nation's most popular individual major medical insurance plans are available to residents of Washington Short Term Insurance Markel Smart STM - popular and affordable short term major medical insurance with fast online approval Intermediate Term Inbound Immigrant - up to five years of liberal health insurance coverage after immigration including maternity coverage, emergency and other essential benefits Supplemental Insurance Value Emergency Room - add $1,000 additional emergency room coverage for $1 per day for the whole family Washington Insurance Law The Washington Insurance Commissioner's Web site contains a link to the state's insurance laws and regulations.  The Web site is not designed to be a  resource to help individuals find commercial low cost health plans like mini-med or core coverage, specific illness policies, supplemental insurance and basic health insurance. The Office of the Insurance Commissioner can be reached by telephone at 800-562-6900 or by mail at PO Box 40256, Olympia WA 98504. The state children's health insurance plan (CHIP) Web site is Washington Children's Health Insurance Program. Non-insurance Discount Plans Careington PPO Discount Plans - the nation's leading network PPO discount provider allows a no-risk trial of any discount plan for only a $20 processing fee Drug Card America - a free prescription drug card that an be used nationwide Essential Dental Solutions - simple, inexpensive, no waiting period, up to $500 treatment per year Rx Pay Card - $10, $20, or $30 payments for hundreds of popular prescriptions. See International Coverage and Travel Insurance Listings

Washington Insurance News

1/19/2011 Child-only health insurance for children with significant medical problems will be available through an open enrollment period mandated by federal state law under new rules developed by the state. All children, regardless of medical condition, continue to be eligible for insurance when applying as a dependent on a parent’s policy and healthy children are eligible for child-only insurance at any time. When applying for child-only insurance for more than one child, make a separate application for each child.

12/16/2010 Washington Health Care Authority officials met representatives of 44 other states and numerous employees of the federal Health and Human Services Department in Washington DC this week for a two-day working meeting to discuss the next steps in establish a government-run health insurance exchange under the American Health Benefit Exchange Model Act. Their attendance at this meeting was paid for by a $1 million federal grant awarded by HHS in September to the state for research how to set up an insurance exchange. Two states (Alaska and Minnesota) declined to participate, saying that it was a waste of taxpayer money. Four other states (not identified in press reports) that received federal grants did not send representatives to the meeting. Attendees included representatives of 16 states that are suing the federal government in an attempt to overturn the federal health reform law; specifically the requirement that forces individuals to buy health insurance on the insurance exchange or pay a hefty tax fine.

In its initial federal grant request for the insurance exchange project, the Health Care Authority said that it would: 1) Develop an implementation plan by September 30, 2011, 2) Focus on cost containment and quality, 3) Conduct IT Infrastructure Review and Assessment – coordinate with requirements and business functions in the Planning Report. In 2011, a technology work plan will supplement the implementation plan, and 4) Focus on legislation that will likely follow the completion of the implementation plan specifies the intent and legal direction of a State-based Exchange.

The meeting reportedly did not address the role of the commercial health insurance exchanges on the implementation of new competing government systems. The model act does not address inter-state insurance exchange proposals nor insurance sales across state lines. Federal officials admitted that they may not be able to provide further guidance until 2012. Meanwhile, most states are motivated to continue to meet requirements to obtain additional funding promised by the federal government for the establishment of insurance exchange by 2014. Freedom Benefits has previously voiced the opinion that the huge amount of money being spent to set up alternate insurance sales system technologies could be better used providing health benefits to the public. We proposed on the Universal Health Insurance blog that adequate commercial insurance sales systems are already in place that could be modified in a public/private partnership to make health insurance more affordable.

10/19/2010 Open enrollment period for children's health insurance - The state Insurance Commissioner ordered Regence Blue Shield, the state's largest health insurance company, to offer an open enrollment period for children's with pre-existing medical problems durng a special enrollment period from Nov. 1-Dec. 15, 2010 at which time anyone looking for an individual policy for their families or for their children only can enroll them without undergoing a health screen. All U.S. major insurance plans stopped offering child-only major medical insurance after September 23, 2010 but Washington state has traditionally taken a more radical approach to regulating insurance companies. The executive order gives families with sick children an immediate opportunity to obtain coverage without concern for pre-existing medical conditions.

Self employed individuals and sole proprietors now quailify for group type major medical health insurance regardless of medical history if they are able to show (with a copy of a filed income tax return) that they have been in business for more than one year and that the majority of their earnings come from self-employment income. This new law became effective September 2010. Group coverage may be more expensive than individual medical insurance but covers more potential medical costs.

5/14/2010 Diabetes Coverage: A new resource to help find health insurance for diabetics in Washington state is now available at Freedom Benefits.

3/23/2010 Washington and ten other states including Alabama, Florida, Michigan, Nebraska, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas and Utah will make a joint legal challenge to the federal health reform bill on the basis that it improperly usurps state sovereignty over health insurance and that requiring health insurance is an illegal and improper government action.

2/22/2010 State legislators failed to support a bill to allow health insurance consumers the opportunity to purchase health insurance across state lines despite support from the small business community and an endorsement from the chair of the health committee.