A record number of Washington residents used the state’s system to help them find health insurance before the sign-up period closed Tuesday night.

SEATTLE – While some states are expecting double-digit increases in individual health care insurance premiums next year, some Washington insurers on the state exchange plan to lower their rates for 2016. Most Washington residents who buy health insurance through Washington Healthplanfinder, however, should expect to pay more next year. A big chunk of those increases is tied to an exchange user fee collected to pay to run the state exchange, Washington’s answer to the federal Affordable Care Act.

Washington state will open a special enrollment period for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act that extends through tax-filing season.

OLYMPIA – Washington residents struggling with the insurance plans purchased through the state’s exchange will be able to sign up for new plans through November because problems have been so hard to correct. A special enrollment period will last from Wednesday through Nov. 14, allowing customers with unresolved problems to sign up for different plans or with different companies, the state’s top insurance official said Monday. Here’s the catch: Customers could lose their subsidies or any deductible credits or out-of-pocket expenses they’ve built up with their current plans.