If passed, Washington Initiative 2124 (I-2124) would effectively eliminate long term care coverage for Washington’s seniors by slashing funding for the WA Cares Fund. This would mean millions would go without home care, family caregiving, home modifications, and so much more.
As we age, 70 percent of us will wind up needing long-term care — getting help with meals, chores, and daily tasks are all things that help us live in our own homes for longer, but many cannot afford this assistance. WA Cares works by automatically contributing 0.58 percent of your paycheck into a fund you can access when you need assistance or long-term care after an accident, surgery or as you age. Eliminating funding for WA Cares means that none of us will be able to access the long-term care benefits we need unless we pay for private insurance. I-2124 would take away benefits from working Washingtonians who have earned them by paying into the system.
I-2124 is designed to force the WA Cares Fund to fail. By making it optional to pay into the program, it ensures that the fund will not have enough money to operate and it will collapse. Washingtonians will once again only have the option of buying long-term care through expensive private insurers, which typically only the wealthiest can afford.
Leading the effort to sabotage long-term care is Republican mega-donor Brian Heywood, who has personally spent more than $6 million bankrolling all of this year’s initiatives alongside MAGA Republican Party Chair Rep. Jim Walsh. Their continued efforts to repeal any source of funding for public needs like health care is not just deeply cynical but dangerous for the majority of us.
Most Washingtonians will need assistance as we age through caregivers or home modifications we need to continue living at home and WA Cares provides that to all of us. This short-sighted, millionaire-powered effort will leave many of us without care. Vote no on I-2124 and reject this attempt to repeal WA Cares.
If passed, Washington Initiative 2124 (I-2124) would effectively eliminate long term care coverage for Washington’s seniors by slashing funding for the WA Cares Fund. This would mean millions would go without home care, family caregiving, home modifications, and so much more.
As we age, 70 percent of us will wind up needing long-term care — getting help with meals, chores, and daily tasks are all things that help us live in our own homes for longer, but many cannot afford this assistance. WA Cares works by automatically contributing 0.58 percent of your paycheck into a fund you can access when you need assistance or long-term care after an accident, surgery or as you age. Eliminating funding for WA Cares means that none of us will be able to access the long-term care benefits we need unless we pay for private insurance. I-2124 would take away benefits from working Washingtonians who have earned them by paying into the system.
I-2124 is designed to force the WA Cares Fund to fail. By making it optional to pay into the program, it ensures that the fund will not have enough money to operate and it will collapse. Washingtonians will once again only have the option of buying long-term care through expensive private insurers, which typically only the wealthiest can afford.
Leading the effort to sabotage long-term care is Republican mega-donor Brian Heywood, who has personally spent more than $6 million bankrolling all of this year’s initiatives alongside MAGA Republican Party Chair Rep. Jim Walsh. Their continued efforts to repeal any source of funding for public needs like health care is not just deeply cynical but dangerous for the majority of us.
Most Washingtonians will need assistance as we age through caregivers or home modifications we need to continue living at home and WA Cares provides that to all of us. This short-sighted, millionaire-powered effort will leave many of us without care. Vote no on I-2124 and reject this attempt to repeal WA Cares.