Janice Deguchi, Executive Director
Neighborhood House joins Solid Ground, Asian Counseling and Referral Service, Casa Latina, Children’s Alliance, Jewish Family Service, Real Change, El Centro de la Raza, and hundreds of other organizations, businesses, and individuals in opposing Initiative I-2124. The initiative seeks to eliminate Washington’s long-term care insurance program WA CARES, affecting 3.9 million people in our state.
70% of us will require long-term care as we age, and WA Cares provides guaranteed, affordable home care, access to residential treatment, meal support, and more to those who need it – even if we move out of Washington state. Eligible individuals can receive a lifetime benefit of $36,500 if they pay into the program for at least 10 years without a break from work of five years or more. (The maximum benefit figure will be adjusted for inflation.) Deductions from paychecks began July 1, 2023, and benefits will become available in July 2026.
Workers contribute .58% of their wages to WA CARES. To find out how much you pay based on your salary, calculate this tax here. Neighborhood House employees can find the amount deducted for this benefit on their pay statement under “Washington Long.”
Proponents of I-2124 say not everyone who pays in will be able to qualify for the full benefit and thus should be able to get out of the program if they desire. However, making the program optional will allow healthy and wealthy Washingtonians to opt out, which will doom the program for the millions of working Washingtonians who are counting on it.
Medicare and private health insurance do not cover the costs of long-term care. Most of us have few options if we end up in need of caregiving. In the absence of Washington CARES, here are our choices:
- Asking a family member to provide care.
- Spending all but $2,000 of our assets on long-term care until we qualify for Medicaid.
- Purchasing a long-term care insurance plan which could cost as much as $6,000-$10,000 per year.
The passage of I-2124 will send more people into debt when faced with expensive long-term care bills. It will cause more people, mostly women, to leave their jobs to provide unpaid care for loved ones with disabilities, or who are sick or aging. It will leave those of us with cancer, diabetes, high blood pressure, and other pre-existing conditions – about 57% of us over 50 – unprotected, because we cannot get private insurance.
The Neighborhood House Board of Directors opposes I-2124 and all the statewide ballot initiatives. Click these links to read Neighborhood House’s statement opposing I-2109 (repeal of the Capital Gains Tax) and I-2117 (repeal of the Climate Commitment Act).