Initiative 2124 is an initiative to the 2024 Washington State Legislature that would sabotage the Washington Cares Fund, which helps Washingtonians access long-term care. The House and Senate did not act on it and consequently, it will be before voters in the November 2024 general election.
Basic facts
| Ballot Title: | Initiative Measure No. 2124 concerns state long term care insurance. This measure would provide that employees and self-employed people must elect to keep coverage under RCW 50B.04 and could opt-out any time. It would also repeal a law governing an exemption for employees. Should this measure be enacted into law? Yes [ ] No [ ] |
| Ballot Summary: | This measure would amend state law establishing a state long term care insurance program to provide that employees and self-employed people must elect to keep coverage under RCW 50B.04, allow employees to opt-out of coverage under RCW 50B.04 at any time, and repeal a current law governing exemptions for employees who had purchased long term care insurance before November 1, 2021. |
| Filed on: | June 13th, 2023 at 10:32 AM |
| Certified: | January 25th, 2024 (by random sample check) |
| Petition Information: | The Secretary of State’s office reported receiving 26,154 petition sheets for I-2124 bearing 427,481 signature lines. 10,552 of those signatures were selected for a three percent random sample check. 10,579 were accepted and 2,273 were deemed to be duplicate or invalid. More details are available here. |
| Sponsor: | Republican State Party Chair Jim Walsh |
| Principal Funder: | Multimillionaire hedge fund manager Brian Heywood |
| Complete Text: | Available (PDF) |
Why we oppose I-2124
I-2124 would effectively eliminate long term care coverage for Washington’s seniors by slashing funding for the Washington Cares Fund (WA Cares). This would mean millions would go without home care, family caregiving, home modifications, and so much more.
As we age, seventy 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 will create a destructive dynamic where the fund will not have enough money to operate, resulting in its 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.
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. It’s critical that we stand together and work to improve WA Cares rather than sabotaging it.
Vote NO on I-2124.
Official explanatory statement
Written by the office of the Attorney General:
The Law as It Presently Exists
In 2019, the Washington Legislature created a public long term care insurance program that is commonly known as “WA Cares.” The program provides people who meet its requirements up to $36,500 (plus increases based on inflation) to pay for certain long term care services, such as nursing home care.
The insurance program is funded through mandatory contributions from most employees in Washington. Employers must deduct 0.58 percent of an employee’s wages. Participation is mandatory for most employees whether they are full-time, part-time, or temporary workers. Payroll deductions began on July 1, 2023.
Some employees in Washington do not contribute to the long term care insurance program and are not eligible for the program’s benefit. In general, federal employees, employees of federally recognized tribes, and persons who are self-employed do not participate in the long term care insurance program. However, federally recognized tribes and persons who are self-employed may choose to participate.
Certain employees may apply for voluntary exemptions from participation in the program. Employees who may apply for voluntary exemptions include veterans with service-connected disabilities, spouses or registered domestic partners of active-duty military members, temporary workers on a non-immigrant visa, and, under recent changes to the law, workers whose permanent address is outside Washington. In addition, employees who obtained private long term care insurance before November 2021 were eligible to apply for an exemption until December 2022.
Participants must contribute to the long term care insurance program for a minimum number of years before they are eligible to apply for benefits. In general, participants must contribute for either (1) at least ten years, without a gap of five or more consecutive years, or (2) for three of the last six years before the date a person applies for benefits. A person born before 1968 may receive partial benefits based on the number of years they have contributed to the program.
The long-term care insurance benefit is available only to individuals who need assistance with at least three activities of daily living, such as eating, getting in or out of bed, dressing, taking medications, or bathing. In addition, a person is eligible for the benefit only if they are at least 18 years old. For Washington residents, benefits first become available on July 1, 2026.
The Effect of the Proposed Measure if Approved
If adopted, Initiative Measure No. 2124 (I-2124) would change how participation in the long term care insurance program works. Employees and self-employed persons who are currently participating in the program would be able to opt out at any time. A person who opts out would not contribute premiums to the program and would not be eligible for the $36,500 benefit. I-2124 would also require that employees or self-employed persons in Washington elect to keep coverage under the program.
This measure does not specify the timing or process for employees or self-employed persons to either “elect to keep coverage” or opt out of the program. I-2124 would give the Employment Security Department authority to adopt rules to implement the measure’s requirements.
I-2124 would also repeal the statute that created a voluntary exemption for employees who had purchased long term care insurance before November 2021.
Downloadable one-page fact sheet
Fiscal impact statement
OFM is the Office of Financial Management. Among its responsibilities is assessing the fiscal impact of proposed legislation, whether that legislation comes from the people or the people’s elected representatives. Below is OFM’s fiscal impact statement for I-2124.