Washington state's Basic Health Plan premiums to rise sharply

Premiums for Washington state's Basic Health Plan will as much as double in January as part of a strategy to drive thousands of members off the cash-strapped state-subsidized insurance program. Officials announced that they will boost Basic Health's rates by an average of 70% as part of their effort to boot 30,000 to 40,000 working-class people off its rolls. Officials rejected four other potential options on how to shrink the 100,000-member pool, including a lottery and ejecting members based on how long they'd been on the program.