Open Enrollment for State Healthcare Marketplace Opens Nov. 1

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The good news: Washington Healthplanfinder, the state marketplace for residents who purchase health insurance on their own, will be open for business as of Tuesday. The bad news: It's only open for six weeks, the shortest open enrollment period since the system lauched in 2013. Thanks Trump!

What's President Pig Butt got to do with it? Plenty. While the Affordable Care Act stipulated a minimum of six weeks for open enrollment, until now, that time frame has been expanded to at least 10 weeks. And for good reason, as King County Communications Director James Apa told me in an email: "It’s a new program and it is administered to a public that is not accustomed to purchasing insurance in a narrow window of time," Apa said. Instead, the Trump administration decided to do the absolute bare minimum required by law, which is going to hurt Americans who actually need to buy health insurance.

At the same time, the administration cut federal funding for advertising the exchange, another way of undermining the Affordable Care Act. And while Trump and his GOP might not have been able to pass their Obamacare replacement, they did manage to pass their tax bill (affectionately known as the Tax Cuts for Yacht Owners' Bill), which effectively kneecapped the ACA by eliminating the personal mandate.

That's not all Trump has done to fuck up Obama's signature healthcare legislation—which, by the way, resulted in millions of Americans getting healthcare. He also slashed federal funding for exchange navigators, the people and programs that help consumers purchase the appropriate healthcare plan.

"Fortunately," Apa said, "Washington State operates its own exchange and has maintained a budget for outreach navigators and a modest advertising budget. In addition, King County has invested locally in our outreach program. Unfortunately, the slashing of the national advertising campaign does have an effect on us by reducing overall public awareness."

Public, be aware: Open enrollment starts Nov. 1 and lasts until Dec. 15 if you want to be covered effective of the new year. In King County, you'll have 20 different plans to choose from, and because Washington maintains its own exchange, there will be in-person and telephone support available for those who need it. Not thanks to Trump.