Guest post from section sponsor: Community Health Care
The “Big Beautiful Bill H.R. 1” (BBB) was signed into federal law by the president on July 4, 2025.
The BBB outlined a lot of policy changes as wide-reaching as tax cuts and student aid, but the change that resonates most for Community Health Care (CHC) has to do with our state’s form of Medicaid, Apple Health.
Fifty-seven percent (57%) of Community Health Care’s patient population is reliant on Apple Health for their medical insurance coverage. The changes to Apple Health will roll out over the next few years. Some of the changes include:
Eligibility for refugees, asylum seekers, and other noncitizen adults (starts October 1, 2026).
People enrolled in Apple Health for Adults will be required to work, train, or do community engagement 80 hours per month (starts January 1, 2027).
People enrolled in Apple Health for Adults will be required to renew their coverage every six months instead of twelve months (starts January 1, 2027).
Retroactive coverage changes from 3 months to 1 month for certain groups (starts January 1, 2027).
Figuring out how those changes apply to you and your family can be confusing. Community Health Care has a Managed Care Team to help patients answer questions about the effects of these changes and what needs to happen next.
How can CHC help?
Insurance Navigator services are free to everyone: CHC patients and non-patients.
You can receive assistance either by phone or in person at one of our clinics.
CHC has an Apple Health Renewal Checklist on our website available for download to make gathering all the needed information easier.
A CHC Navigator can either help you sign up/renew your insurance or guide you through the process of doing it on your own via the Washington Health Plan Finder.
If you do lose your insurance coverage, you don’t have to go without health care. Community Health Care has a variety of ways to help with health care costs, such as the sliding fee scale. The sliding fee scale is used across CHC’s services: medical, dental, behavioral health, and pharmacy. For questions about the sliding fee scale, ask CHC customer service or front desk staff.
Important Information:
CHC Insurance Assistance Line: (253) 722-2154
CHC Insurance Assistance Webpage: https://www.commhealth.org/apple-health-changes
Washington Health Plan Finder: https://www.wahealthplanfinder.org/
Washington Health Care Authority: https://www.hca.wa.gov/free-or-low-cost-health-care
