Washington State has launched a long-term care option for its residents, reports Paula Span for the New York Times. It is the first state in the nation to do so. Other states are taking notice.
Medicare does not cover long-term care and long-term care is expensive. Only people with low incomes and assets who qualify for Medicaid have coverage for long-term custodial nursing home care. They might also qualify for long-term care at home, but wait lists for home care are long.
About seven in ten Americans will need long-term care, but it is very expensive, as is long-term care insurance. Long-term care insurance premiums, which averaged $3,265 in 2024, tend to go up significantly over time, even though insurers often call them “stable.” As a result, most people have no protection, and a lot of people who buy long-term care insurance end up letting their policies lapse.
Moreover, long-term care insurance tends not to pay as much of the cost of long-term care as people need. Many policies have inflation adjusters, but they tend to not keep place with inflation. They also have waiting periods before the policy begins covering people’s care. In addition, people who simply need help with one or two activities of daily living, such as bathing and toileting, often don’t qualify for coverage.
Many policies require people to need help with three activities of daily living to qualify for coverage. Finally, many policies cap the amount they will pay out, leaving people without help covering their care after a few years. Only three percent of Americans have long-term care coverage.
Washington State imposes a 0.58 percent payroll tax on people’s wages for Washington Cares, its long-term care coverage. They accrue benefits this way that can pay for help with bathing, dressing, grocery shopping and managing medications. Not surprisingly, 3.7 million workers have signed up for WA Cares.
Washingtonians who sign up for WA Cares and pay in for 10 years accrue a lifetime benefit of $36,500, which increases with inflation. If you earn $50,000 a year at the age of 36, you will contribute $291 for ten years and generate a $98,000 benefit in 40 years.
The WA Cares benefit includes home care, transportation, adult day programs, ramps and grab bars for your home.
The federal government has never succeeded at establishing long-term care coverage.
Here’s more from Just Care:
- Long-term care
- PACE helps older adults stay in their community
- Traditional Medicare offers better home care benefits than Medicare Advantage
- Medicare coverage of nursing home care is very limited
- Don’t trust Medicare nursing home star ratings
