This article is one in a series looking at statewide initiatives on Washington’s 2024 November ballot.
What would the initiative do?
Initiative 2124 would amend the state’s long-term care program, known as WA Cares, so all workers would have a choice about whether to participate in it and can opt out at any time. As is, most workers in the state must take part in WA Cares and pay a tax supporting the program.
What is WA Cares?
WA Cares applies a 0.58% tax on the paychecks of workers in Washington. The tax went into effect in July 2023.
Beginning in July 2026, those who qualify can begin accessing the program’s long-term care benefit, which has a lifetime cap of $36,500. The money can be used to offset expenses like caretaking, equipment, medication and meals for people who are older, injured or disabled.
Some workers aren’t required to participate. These include people who live outside of Washington but work in the state, spouses of active-duty military service members, those with non-immigrant work visas, and veterans who meet certain disability requirements.
People with qualifying private long-term care insurance could opt out through December 2022. Nearly 500,000 individuals opted out before that deadline, according to an October 2022 report.
Why is the initiative on the ballot?
Let’s Go Washington, sponsored by hedge fund manager Brian Heywood, collected around 424,000 signatures to get the initiative on the ballot.
WA Cares has drawn criticism since it became law in 2019. Opponents say too many people paying the tax may never use the full benefit. Another argument against the program is that the benefit is too small to be meaningful when stacked against the potentially heavy costs of long-term care.
Critics have also raised concerns about the fund’s finances, which some say are unsustainable and could require a higher tax in the future to keep the program solvent.
Another major criticism was that the benefit was not “portable,” meaning those who leave the state to retire couldn’t access it even if they paid into the fund during their career in Washington. The Legislature passed a law this year to make the benefit available to people who leave the state if they’ve paid into it for a certain number of years.
If the initiative passes, what would the consequences be?
Making the program voluntary, without other changes to benefits or premiums, could send it into a financial death spiral, according to an analysis from December and program supporters.
The expectation is that people are less likely to need care, and higher earners – who also pay more in taxes to support the program because the tax is a percentage of pay – are more likely to bail out. That would leave fewer people, paying less in taxes, but more likely to require care.
This is why WA Cares proponents say that if I-2124 passes, it would effectively be a repeal. Supporters of keeping WA Cares intact include SEIU 775, whose members include thousands of long-term care workers, AARP and the Washington State Budget and Policy Center.
— By Laurel Demkovich, Washington State Standard
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Yes like what if you move out of Washington. Which happens a lot when your a senior. You move to be by your kids, Does the money you paid in move with you?
Reading the story provides the answer: Another major criticism was that the benefit was not “portable,” meaning those who leave the state to retire couldn’t access it even if they paid into the fund during their career in Washington. The Legislature passed a law this year to make the benefit available to people who leave the state if they’ve paid into it for a certain number of years.
Vote YES for Initiative 2124. This was a bill passed by a Democrat legislature as payback to SEIU for their support of the Democrat Party in Washington. It’s the worst form of political corruption. The reasons to support 2124 are laid out in the article above. Like most government giveaways, if allowed to stand, WA Cares will add to an already obese State government, it will increase taxes and eventually require bailouts by the taxpayers while offering little assistance. To repeat, the new bureaucracy will take money from working people, expenses will balloon and benefits will be minimal. Taxes will increase and the government will gain more control of your hard earned money. This was a foolish program to begin with and the initiative 2124 will hopefully send it to an early grave.
SO glad to see this!! A bad deal for many that were not considered!! VOTE YES! (please)
I will be voting yes for Initiative 2124 as well. My own parents are now in an Adult Family Home and the entire $36,500 would cover less than 4 months of their care each. $36,500 is a drop in the bucket for what it costs to get old and need care. The amount is utterly meaningless and therefore it is a totally pointless tax.
I’ve had to manage both the finances and medical care of first my mother and then my first wife with dementia and I can vouch for the fact that the maximum payout of this program is all but useless in any real meaningful economic help sense. It’s better than nothing but next to nothing and the program should probably be scrapped. Some sort of optional and voluntary tax free investment program managed and honored by both the federal and state governments available at the age of 21 to all citizens would make more sense. This was a bad attempt at legislating responsibility and should be gotten rid of.