WA Cares survives vote, but ‘work to be done’ on LTC program

By Rayne Morgan

A long-term care organization is urging Washington state officials to address outstanding issues with its revolutionary public long-term care program, WA CaresFund, which narrowly survived being voted out of existence during the 2024 election.

Stephen D. Forman, co-owner and senior VP, Long Term Care Associates, said it’s “great” that the program is proceeding. However, he suggested there is more work to be done as it only covers two out of 10 people.

“According to my back-of-the-envelope calculations, and I just re-ran these numbers this morning, Washington Cares will probably provide adequate long-term care coverage for, at most, two out of 10 Washington adults. That means 80% of Washington adults still need to do some kind of long-term care planning,” he said.

Forman noted that non-working Washingtonians are not covered by the program at all, while others are underserved and still need more coverage than what is provided.

“So, my question is, what is the state’s next move? OK, you’ve got your win – Washington Cares is here to stay. You've made the first step for two out of 10 of your residents. What’s your plan for the other eight out of 10? Let’s not stop the work,” he said.

I-2124 rejected at polls

Washington residents voted approximately 55% to 45% to reject Initiative 2124, which would have made the WA Cares program voluntary and effectively ended it.

Ben Veghte, WA Cares director, said organizers are “excited” to be able to continue the program and are gearing up for implementation. Benefits are set to start in July 2026.

“There’s over 3 million workers who are earning benefits through WA Cares. We expect about 30-50,000 beneficiaries in the first year and are preparing to provide benefits to those people,” he said.

While pleased the program will continue, Cathy MacCaul, policy and advocacy director, the American Association for Retired Persons, said the election brought hard lessons that must be addressed.

“The AARP is really pleased that the voters rejected Initiative 2124, [which] would have basically killed the financial solvency of the long-term care benefit here in Washington state,” MacCaul said. “We’re excited to put this behind us, but also we learned a lot during the campaign about people’s issues and concerns.”

In this vein, she said the AARP plans to launch an education campaign while officials look into ensuring WA Cares has comparable benefits with private insurance.

Supplemental market could take years

The Long Term Care Trust Commission has recommended a supplemental market where WA Cares acts as primary coverage and affordable private LTCI plans provide supplemental coverage.

Program officials said they are looking into public-private partnerships along these lines, but noted that it hinges upon whether the legislature adopts those recommendations.

“I’m concerned because, in 2023, the Long Term Care Trust Commission made recommendations to the Legislature on the formation of a wraparound market, a supplemental market, and the legislature didn’t take up those recommendations,” Forman said.

“There’s a whole process that it’s going to have to go through,” MacCaul added. “The legislature is going to have to initiate legislation. We’re going to have to work with our Office of the Insurance Commissioner. There’s a lot of work, so this is potentially two, three years off in the distance, or I’m not even sure.”

‘Wind in their sails again’

Despite this uncertainty, insurance groups and state insurance offices seem to be encouraged by WA Cares’ vote, according to Forman. He said that many interested in developing similar programs had been taking a “wait-and-see” approach, with I-2124 hot on everyone’s radar.

“There’s a number of task forces within the industry or groups within insurance companies that are all keeping a close eye on this… Since the initiative was rejected, meaning that Washington Cares’ status will remain as is, I think the sense on the ground now is that the other states can breathe a sigh of relief. The sense that I get is that there’s wind in people’s sails again,” he said.

Forman said there has been a misconception that private insurers want publicly-funded LTC programs like WA Cares to fail. He said many insurers are pulling for public LTC programs and believe a supplemental market could be “the second coming of private long-term care insurance” — but they want it to be done right.

“Private long-term care insurance is necessary Whether Washington Cares lives or dies. People in Washington state are going to continue to need private long-term care insurance, so let’s work together and let’s make Washington Cares the best program it can be,” he said.

“We would love to continue to have those discussions and continue to explore those options because I think we have huge potential and huge opportunity here in Washington state to really rethink what it means to age and how long-term care fits into that nature,” MacCauly said.

The AARP, founded in 1958, is one of the largest non-profit organizations dedicated to the needs of Americans over 50 years of age. Headquartered in Washington, it has offices in every state and more than 30 million members.

Long Term Care Associates Inc., founded in 1972, is an American organization dedicated to long-term care insurance solutions and resources. It’s headquartered in Washington but operates nationwide.

Rayne Morgan is a journalist, copywriter, and editor with over 10 years' combined experience in digital content and print media. You can reach her at [email protected].