# Washington approves a 22.2% average 2027 individual-market increase Canonical reader page: https://ichrareport.com/news/washington-2027-individual-market-rates-ichra/ Publisher: ICHRA Report Originally published: 2026-09-14 Substantively updated: 2026-09-14 Sources checked: 2026-09-14 Data period: Washington OIC decision · September 9, 2026 [Home](https://ichrareport.com/) [News](https://ichrareport.com/news/) Washington approves a 22.2% average 2027 individual-market increase State market rates Washington's 2027 individual-market rate decision is a reason to refresh local ICHRA affordability inputs, not a required contribution increase. Separate the statewide average from the employee-level lowest-cost Silver benchmark. At a glance Evidence **Sourced state-market reporting** Event / data period **Washington OIC decision · September 9, 2026** Review cutoff **September 14, 2026** By [ICHRA Report](https://ichrareport.com/about/) · Published September 14, 2026 What changed On September 9, 2026, Washington's insurance regulator reported that an average 22.2% increase for 2027 Exchange individual coverage was actuarially justified, compared with 22.4% requested by insurers. That is a statewide market signal, not an ICHRA affordability result for every employee. [source](https://www.insurance.wa.gov/about-us/news/news-archive) ## What the regulator decided The Washington State Office of the Insurance Commissioner approved an average 22.2% increase for the 2027 individual Exchange market. The decision reflects the regulator's review of projected medical costs, enrollment and other actuarial factors. An average across the market does not tell an employer how a particular plan, county, age or rating area will change. ## Why ICHRA employers should care ICHRA affordability depends partly on the employee's self-only lowest-cost Silver premium in the employee's market, after the employer contribution is taken into account. HealthCare.gov describes that local premium, household income and the offered contribution as connected parts of the affordability test. [source](https://www.healthcare.gov/small-businesses/learn-more/individual-coverage-hra/) That makes a substantial state-market repricing a reason to rerun local 2027 work. It does not turn the 22.2% average into a required contribution increase. ## Keep three numbers separate - **State average:** the regulator's summary of approved market changes. - **Actual employee premium:** the price of a particular plan for a particular person and rating area. - **Lowest-cost Silver benchmark:** the plan measure used in the ICHRA affordability analysis. The federal required contribution percentage for plan years beginning in 2027 is 10.22%. That is a separate federal variable; it is not a forecast of Washington premiums and it does not replace the local Silver benchmark. [source](https://www.irs.gov/irb/2026-31_irb) ## What an employer should collect Before setting a 2027 contribution, collect the employee rating area or county, applicable age, available lowest-cost Silver premium, employee class, contribution design, and plan-network or prescription needs. Record the plan identifier, geography, plan year, source and review date alongside each amount. Use the [affordability guide](https://ichrareport.com/guides/ichra-affordability-2027/) and [Market Explorer](https://ichrareport.com/tools/market-explorer/) to structure the local check. The [2027 planning outlook](https://ichrareport.com/research/ichra-2027-planning-outlook/) explains how those inputs fit into a broader decision packet. ## What the 22.2% does not establish This figure does not establish that every Washington plan or county will rise by 22.2%, that the lowest-cost Silver benchmark will move at the same rate, that an employer must increase its allowance by 22.2%, or that ICHRA is cheaper than group coverage. The official archive and homepage also displayed different insurer counts when reviewed, so this article leaves that unresolved metric out rather than presenting it as settled. [source](https://www.insurance.wa.gov/about-us/news/news-archive) ### Practical conclusion Treat Washington's average increase as a prompt to refresh employee-level 2027 affordability inputs. The number that matters for a decision is the dated local benchmark, not the statewide headline. ## Sources and evidence [1 Washington State Office of the Insurance Commissioner — Average 22.2% rate increase approved for Washington's 2027 Exchange individual market The September 9, 2026 official archive entry reports a 22.2% average actuarially justified increase versus 22.4% requested. The article omits the carrier count because another official OIC page displayed a conflicting count at review time. Source reviewed 2026-09-14](https://www.insurance.wa.gov/about-us/news/news-archive)[2 HealthCare.gov — Individual Coverage Health Reimbursement Arrangements Federal overview of ICHRA contributions, employee classes, class-size minimums, affordability, and implementation timing. Source reviewed 2026-09-11](https://www.healthcare.gov/small-businesses/learn-more/individual-coverage-hra/)[3 Internal Revenue Service — Revenue Procedure 2026-26 Section 3.02 sets the required contribution percentage at 10.22% for plan years beginning in 2027. Section 5 establishes the effective period. Source reviewed 2026-09-11](https://www.irs.gov/irb/2026-31_irb) Review dates are recorded for each source above. Company pages are useful for confirming how a product is described, but they do not prove service quality or customer results.