Don’t Let I-2124 Take Away Our Long-Term Care Benefit

I-2124’s backers say their initiative helps people, but the truth is it will make things more expensive for women and working families by increasing out-of-pocket expenses and leaving us with a broken and expensive private long-term care insurance market to help pay for care.

By ending our long-term care insurance program, I-2124 will cause more people, primarily women, to juggle between family, jobs and providing unpaid care for loved ones with disabilities or who are sick or aging by taking away Washington’s long-term insurance benefits for 3.9 million working Washingtonians.

More than 820,000 Washingtonians are currently unpaid family caregivers. I-2124 will worsen the care crisis, causing huge financial strain for families who are doing everything they can to help their loved ones age at home, where they want to be.

I-2124 eliminates critical support for family caregivers, including the ability to help pay family caregivers to offset lost income while providing care. It also takes away resources that could provide family caregivers with some relief by hiring homecare aides or paying for supports like home safety modifications, meal delivery, transportation and assistive technology.

If it passes, more people will face expensive long-term care bills and private insurance premiums they can't afford. Middle and low-income families are least able to afford private long-term care insurance or to pay out of pocket for care, especially because the vast majority of people have less than $5,000 in savings.

Private insurance routinely jacks up premiums by 50%, 100%, even 300% without warning. I-2124 leaves out people with cancer, diabetes, high blood pressure and other pre-existing conditions - about 57% of us over 50 - because they cannot get private insurance, even if they can afford the expensive premiums. And it hurts women who are discriminated against by private long-term care insurance companies, which charge women up to 70% more than men.

Visit the No on I-2124 coalition page for more information.

In the News

Comment: Protect a benefit many will need as they age
Everett Herald, August 3, 2024

"Initiative backers misleadingly drafted the measure to sound like a reasonable change; make the program voluntary. But as anyone with a basic understanding of how insurance works knows, that change would bankrupt the program, draining funding to pay out benefits to those who need them most." ~ Jackie Boschok, vice president of the Washington State Labor Council and president of the Washington State Alliance for Retired Americans


Family caregivers, nurses launch campaign to protect Washington’s long-term care benefit, defeat I-2124
The Columbian, July 25, 2024

"Last week, hundreds of family caregivers, advocates and nurses across the state launched a campaign to defeat a Washington ballot initiative that would cut funding to long-term health care benefits.

While proponents of I-2124 argue the WA Cares tax burdens state residents, Vancouver resident Christina Keys is among those who want the program to continue. She adds her voice to the campaign urging voters to reject the Nov. 5 ballot measure." ~ Chrissy Booker, Columbian staff writer


Lu Hill: For our elders and our communities, the state long-term care program must be protected
Spokesman Review, July 14, 2024

"WA Cares is set up to allow seniors, and disabled or severely ill adults, to live with dignity and stability. But now, this important new safety net program is at risk on the ballot with Initiative 2124, which seeks to overturn it. The misleading ballot wording on I-2124 leads voters to believe the initiative is just about giving people a choice to opt out of the program. But the reality is that when some people opt out of this program, it will increase the premiums for everyone else and ultimately bankrupt the program – taking away benefits from more than 85% of working Washingtonians." ~ Lacrecia “Lu” Hill, Community engagement and strategy director at Empire Health Foundation.

Keep long-term care insurance mandatory in WA
Seattle Times, April 1, 2024

"Making this program voluntary will lead to the same problems faced by voluntary long-term care insurance programs in commercial markets. The people most likely to need LTSS want to sign up, and those who are the healthiest and least likely to need LTSS will forego the coverage. Those incentives unleash what is referred to as a “death spiral,” where the healthiest insureds leave the program as the premiums rise causing further premium increases." ~ Richard G. Frank, Director of the Center on Health Policy at the Brookings Institution.

WA’s long-term care benefit just got an important upgrade, but the program is also under threat
Washington State Standard, March 14, 2024

"As we look ahead to the November election, don’t be fooled by misleading messages from those who intentionally crafted Initiative 2124 to sound like a reasonable change to make the program voluntary. According to experts and actuarial analysis, the true impact of the initiative would be to kill the program, taking benefits away from more than 3 million workers." ~ Marguerite Ro, State Director, AARP Washington and Dr. Charles Mayer

About Washington's Long-Term Care Benefit

70% of us will need help with daily living activities as a result of a serious injury, illness, disease or other challenge that can happen at any age. Washington’s long-term care benefit is a safety net, like Social Security or Medicare, set up to allow seniors and disabled or severely ill adults to live with dignity and stability.

Lawmakers have steadily strengthened Washington’s long-term care benefit—first making near-retirees eligible, even if they work part-time. Thanks to new changes, Washingtonians who have paid into the program can keep their benefits even if they move out of state for work, family, or retirement.

The vast majority of us do not have a way to pay for long-term care expenses, which are not covered by traditional health insurance or Medicare.

Today, Washingtonians have an affordable, guaranteed benefit we can tap into to help cover the costs of long-term care. Benefits start at $36,500 in 2026 (growing to as much as $60,000 in 20 years, indexed to inflation). Benefits cover: home care aide so you can stay in your own home; family member’s time caring for you; wheelchairs, hospital beds, lifts, and other equipment; ramps, grab bars, and other home modifications; and residential care.