WA wins $7.8M bonus for getting kids on insurance

SEATTLE — Washington state has won a performance bonus of $7.8 million from the federal government for signing thousands of kids up for health insurance. Washington is one of 23 states to earn the bonus this year. The state has been given extra cash by the federal government in each of the last five years for signing children up for health insurance. The bonuses totaled $68 million during that time. The state’s new health insurance exchange signed nearly 20,000 kids up for free health insurance through the Apple Health program between Oct. 1 and mid-December.