75,150 workers in Des Moines area will soon be building WA Cares benefits

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By Kristin Hyde

A new report has great news for more than 75,000 workers in the Des Moines area who will soon be building up WA Cares benefits. WA Cares will enable us to stay in our own homes with paid home care when we have Dementia, Cancer, other illnesses or injuries.

The report comes from We Care For Cares, a coalition of consumer advocates including AARP, Alzheimer's Association, Lupus Foundation, Multiple Sclerosis Society, and Physicians for Social Responsibility.

In our area, WA Cares will benefit an estimated 75,150 workers, including:

* 63,350 younger workers (20-54)

* 11,820 older workers (55-64)

* 58,610 Black, Indigenous and workers of color

* 17,640 part-time workers

* 7,070 gig workers

Tom Ewing, a retired nurse in Kent, shared:

"To go from "perfect health" to recovery from a double lung transplant surgery was difficult to say the least. Hospitalized for a month, home with a walker for about a month, graduating to walking sticks. It took a year before I started to feel "normal." WA Cares will provide a lifeline to folks who face unexpected health setbacks and want to get care at home."

More than 50,000 people under age 65 in the Des Moines area likely have pre-existing conditions

Private long term care insurance companies frequently deny coverage for people with pre-existing conditions. WA Cares covers all workers, including those with pre-existing conditions.

WA Cares will provide $36,500 (grows with inflation) to help pay someone when we need help with tasks like dressing, bathing, making meals and getting around as a result of an injury, illness, disease or the normal challenges that can come with aging.

Nearly 20,000 people in our community are unpaid family caregivers

Frequently, women, and Black, Indigenous and people of color become unpaid family caregivers. When they leave their jobs to care for others, it drains household income and worsens the labor shortage.

Thanks to the support of our state Representatives Tina Orwall and Mia Gregerson, and Senator Karen Keiser, WA Cares will give us the choice of staying in our homes when we need care.

Learn more at We Care For WA Cares.

We Cares for WA Cares is a coalition of consumer advocates including AARP, Alzheimer's Association, Lupus Foundation, Multiple Sclerosis Society, and Physicians for Social Responsibility.

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