Washington program
Washington’s option to keep an employer plan (state continuation)
Washington's continuation right for insured group plans at smaller employers. Federal COBRA covers employers with 20 or more people and is the stronger right where it applies.
What it is
Washington's continuation right for insured group plans at smaller employers. Federal COBRA covers employers with 20 or more people and is the stronger right where it applies.
If work coverage ends, the federal COBRA right to keep the plan generally applies at 20 or more employees, subject to its rules. Washington’s option matters for insured groups under 20, and even there the insurer only has to offer the employer the option; the period and price are set by the policy.
Rules
- Group hospital or medical policies issued by an insurer, not self-funded plans; the period and rate vary by policy.
- Employers with 20 to 49 employees may fall under federal COBRA; smaller insured groups may have the Washington option.
What you get
- The same plan, at the full premium plus a fee; ask whether the deductible and existing approvals carry over.
Cost
- The employer may stop contributing, so ask for a written quote.
If you decide to apply
- If work coverage ends, ask HR which continuation right applies to the employer and for the notice, full premium, election deadline and coverage end date.
If it becomes relevant
- Do not let one enrollment deadline expire while waiting on another option.
Good to know
Compare continuation with Healthplanfinder and Apple Health before choosing; keeping the plan is not automatically best.
Other details
- Ask whether the deductible and existing approvals carry over.
Federal background: Keep an employer health plan after work coverage ends (COBRA).
Official sources
“If our work insurance ends, which continuation right applies to our employer, and can you help us compare it with other coverage?”
Why I’m asking: We want affordable insurance that keeps treatment access.
More background and detailed requirements
How this could help
Keeping the same plan may preserve access to the hospital, doctors and treatment approvals. But you may have to pay a much larger premium when the employer stops contributing. Ask for a written quote before deciding.
Federal COBRA may apply to some employers; Washington’s group-policy continuation provisions can be relevant in other cases. These are alternatives to compare with Healthplanfinder or Apple Health, not reasons to assume continuation is the best choice.
What to know before you apply
- Confirm that the policy actually offers continuation, who is eligible, the election deadline and the coverage end date.
- Ask whether your deductible and existing approvals carry over.
- Do not let one enrollment deadline expire while waiting for another option to be decided.
Your next steps
- Ask HR or the insurer for the continuation notice and full monthly premium.
- Have the hospital compare ongoing treatment access under continuation and any proposed replacement plan.
- Choose only after confirming the cost, start date and deadline in writing.
group hospital or medical expense policies issued by an insurer; not a self-funded plan
the period and rate are agreed between the insurer and the policyholder, so they vary
Washington-regulated coverage
Additional program information and published rules
Who does what
The three parts, side by side. The agency decides; nobody on this page does.
You
Ask in writing before the coverage ends and compare the price.
Your social worker
The employer supplies the policy's continuation terms.
The care team
Nothing.
- Who decides
- The insurer, on the terms in the group policy.
- Ask HR
- “Could you help us compare keeping this plan with Apple Health or a marketplace plan before our coverage ends?”
How to apply
First step: Ask HR or the insurer for the continuation notice and full monthly premium.
- Ask the employer in writing what the policy's continuation terms are.
- Start a Healthplanfinder application at the same time, because the window there is sixty days either side.
- Compare the continuation price with the Healthplanfinder price after credits.
Official application / program page ↗
Where it starts: Ask the employer in writing for the continuation terms in the policy before the coverage ends, and ask Healthplanfinder about a plan at the same time.
What to gather
- The coverage end date
- The group policy or certificate
How long: Whatever the policy says; ask for it in writing.
What a yes looks like
A written offer naming a price and a period.
What a no looks like, and the next move
If there is no continuation offer, enrol on Healthplanfinder within sixty days of the coverage ending.
Watch out
- Do not assume a number of months; there is no fixed period in the law.
- A self-funded plan is outside it.
- Start the Healthplanfinder application in the same week so you are not left with nothing.
Dates that change this
2026-09-10: No uniform number of months or election deadline was found: the law leaves the period and price to the policy. The statutory text read here dates from 1985 and no newer version was found.
The numbers and the rules
The arcane layer, kept on purpose. Checked September 11, 2026.
What it is worth
An insurer has to offer a continuation option on a group medical policy; the months and the price come from the policy, not the statute.
Legal protection: The insurer must offer the employer a continuation option
What it costs the family: The full premium, at the rate agreed in the policy.
The eligibility facts, as published
- Plan type
- group hospital or medical expense policies issued by an insurer; not a self-funded plan
- Terms
- the period and rate are agreed between the insurer and the policyholder, so they vary
- Residency
- Washington-regulated coverage
Expect friction on: Getting the policy terms out of the employer
The trap: Do not assume a number of months. The law quoted here gives the insurer and the employer room to agree the terms, so the only reliable answer is the policy document. It also does not reach a self-funded plan.
Where I read this
- Washington Healthplanfinder: Health insurance after a job loss — Washington Health Benefit Exchange, read September 10, 2026
- Washington Healthplanfinder — Washington Health Benefit Exchange, read September 10, 2026