The Washington Health Benefit Exchange, which will operate the Washington Healthplanfinder being formed as part of the Affordable Care Act, announced this morning that a new call center employing 60 people will open in Spokane this September to field calls to the exchange.
Bethany Frey, senior communications specialist for the exchange, says it has contracted with Hampton, Va.-based Faneuil Inc. to operate the call center, which in October will begin enrolling Washington state residents for health-care coverage that takes effect Jan. 1, 2014.
Frey says the exchange hasn't selected a location for the call center, which initially will be the only one of its kind in Washington state.
While the call center will employ 60 people here, Faneuil staff in Virginia will be available to handle overflow and to assist Spanish-speaking residents. Representatives also will have access to a language line with translation capabilities for 175 different languages.
The Washington Health Benefit Exchange is a public-private partnership formed to handle the new health-insurance marketplace for individuals and small businesses. It is separate from the state government and managed by an 11-person board.