Washington State names new head of insurance exchange

Gov. Jay Inslee appoints Ron Sims as chair of the board of the Washington Health Benefit Exchange

Gov. Jay Inslee this week announced the appointment of Ron Sims as Board Chair for the Washington Health Benefit Exchange, which runs the state’s online marketplace for health insurance, the Washington Healthplanfinder. His appointment runs from June 15, 2014 through Dec. 15, 2015.

Ron Sims served for 12 years as King County Executive and served as Deputy Secretary at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development from 2009 to 2011. He recently rejoined the Board of Directors of the Washington Health Alliance, an organization he helped found as the Puget Sound Health Alliance that brings together employers, physicians, hospitals, patients, health plan providers and others to improve the quality of health care in Washington.

In making the appointment, Inslee recognized Sims’ leadership in health care access, quality and equity:

“Ron has been fighting to make our health care system work better for everybody since long before the Affordable Care Act was signed into law. He is the definition of a visionary. As King County Executive, he was a national leader in making health care available to everyone – especially to children. And, as a founding board member of the Puget Sound Health Alliance, Ron has been instrumental in using data to improve the quality of health care not only in King County, but in the entire state. I thank him for agreeing to step in as chair of the Exchange’s Board of Directors as we work to fulfill the promise of the Affordable Care Act by putting meaningful health insurance within the reach of every Washingtonian.

“I also want to thank outgoing chair Margaret Stanley for her vision and service. She provided the leadership needed to launch one of the most successful exchanges in the country.”