OLYMPIA - Gov. Chris Gregoire on Friday signed into law a bill setting rules for insurers preparing for the state's online insurance exchange.
Online insurance exchanges are key to the federal health care overhaul signed into law by President Barack Obama in 2010. The state exchanges for individual and small-group plans are set go live on January 1, 2014.
"All citizens in this nation deserve health care, not just those who can afford it," said Gregoire. "To those who say they are not supportive of the Affordable Care Act, then what?"
Twenty-six states, Washington among them, have signed on to a lawsuit seeking to overturn the act. Attorney General Rob McKenna signed on Washington state as opposing the act against Gregoire's wishes.
They argue that a government requirement that individuals buy health insurance is unconstitutional. The U.S. Supreme Court will start hearing arguments in the case on Monday.
If the act is overturned in its entirety, the state's exchange could still be put in place but federal funding, including a planned major expansion of Medicaid, would likely be lost. State Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler said that his office is committed to getting the exchange in place on schedule.