The mandatory nature of the current system, WA Cares, has proven to be deeply flawed and insufficient for many Washingtonians, and voters now have the chance to fix what’s broken by voting “yes” on Initiative 2124.
The importance of quality long-term care cannot be overstated. If you’ve ever cared for a loved one who requires ongoing assistance, you understand how essential it is to ensure they receive compassionate, reliable support. Unfortunately, the state’s long-term care program falls short of this goal, offering limited benefits and excluding many of the people who pay for it.
The WA Cares program, enacted in 2019, was supposed to provide peace of mind to Washingtonians by pooling all workers into a single, state-run system. Funded by a mandatory payroll tax of 58 cents on every $100 earned, the program promised to cover long-term care services for those who paid in. However, the reality of WA Cares has been a far cry from the promises made by the Legislature. In many cases, the program will only provide benefits for three to four months, despite workers paying into the system for decades.
The program’s flaws became clear almost immediately. In a 2019 advisory vote, 62.92% of Washington voters rejected the payroll tax used to fund WA Cares. Then, in 2020, voters had the chance to weigh in again, this time on the funding structure that would make the program operational. Once again, they rejected it. Despite these two decisive votes, the legislature pressed forward with WA Cares, forcing the program into action even though it was in debt before it had even begun.
Gov. Jay Inslee delayed the program’s implementation until July 2022, giving workers a brief six-month window to opt out by purchasing private long-term care insurance. Unsurprisingly, nearly 500,000 workers took advantage of this opportunity, opting out of the state-run program in favor of private insurance plans that better suited their needs. However, once that window closed, no further exemptions were allowed, leaving many workers stuck paying into a system that may never benefit them.
The state-run long-term care program is not like Social Security or Medicare, and it doesn’t come close to covering the average person’s long-term care costs. Millions of residents will pay into this fund their entire careers and never see a penny, and the state is relying on that fact to make this program work.
So why is WA Cares mandatory if it’s such a great program? The answer is simple: The program is so flawed that it requires people who will never see the benefits to continue paying in. If a private insurance company tried to pull the same scheme that WA Cares does, they would be investigated by Attorney General Bob Ferguson for fraud.
I-2124 seeks to fix this broken system by making WA Cares a voluntary program. Instead of forcing all workers to pay into a program that may never benefit them, I-2124 gives everyone the choice to opt-out and seek other long-term care solutions that better meet their needs. This simple change would provide much-needed flexibility to Washington’s workers, particularly those who are most disadvantaged by the current system.
For instance, WA Cares requires workers to pay into the system for at least 10 years without a break of five or more years to qualify for benefits. This requirement disproportionately impacts:
• Mothers who take time off work to raise their children
• Caregivers who step away from their jobs to care for aging parents
• Disabled workers who may not be able to meet the annual minimum work hours
• Medicaid recipients, who still have to pay into the program despite already qualifying for other forms of assistance
These individuals are left paying into a system they may never benefit from, simply because they took time off to care for loved ones or faced personal health challenges.
The financial math behind WA Cares is just as bleak. The average monthly cost of long-term care in Washington ranges from $7,500 to $14,000, depending on the level of care needed. With a maximum lifetime benefit of just $36,500, the program will only cover about five months of care at best, despite workers paying into it for their entire careers. This is hardly the comprehensive solution Washingtonians were promised.
There is bipartisan support to vote yes on I-2124 because people should not be forced into this program. When inflation is already hitting pocketbooks, a new, poorly administered, untested, and fundamentally inequitable government program is not the answer. I-2124 offers a better solution by giving Washingtonians the freedom to choose. If you believe the state-run program is right for you, you can stay in it. But if you feel that private insurance or another care option is a better fit, you should have the right to opt-out. This flexibility is what I-2124 provides, offering a solution that respects workers’ individual needs and financial realities.
This November, vote “yes” on I-2124. Give workers the freedom to choose their long-term care, and let’s fix what’s broken. We agree, Vote yes, pay less!
