“Long-term-care law might be changing again, and solvency is sought”

“Long-term-care law might be changing again, and solvency is sought,” by Elizabeth Hovde, Washington Policy Center

Quote:

“Is WA Cares, the state’s mandatory long-term-care program, complete with a burdensome payroll tax that’s supposed to pay its way, solvent? Maybe. Will the law be changed to make the program benefit portable? Kinda — and only maybe. Are eligibility qualifications changing? They could be. Will recertification be required of the 476,000-plus people who were exempted from the program so far? Almost certainly. Buckle up: Thursday’s Long-Term Services and Supports (LTSS) Trust Commission meeting was issue-packed. Commissioners went over a new actuarial report, solvency predictions and a slew of commission recommendations for the Legislature. The group continues to try and fix a poorly written law. Fixing it, however, is not possible. The misguided law that created WA Cares is unpopular and does not relieve Washingtonians of a coming long-term-care crisis. It needs to be repealed.”

 

LTC Comment, Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for Long-Term Care Reform:

The WA Cares saga continues; where it ends nobody knows. But it’s sure not looking like something other states would want to replicate, much less the country.