“Opt-out direction, updates, and good and bad news concerning long-term-care law”

“Opt-out direction, updates, and good and bad news concerning long-term-care law,” by Elizabeth Hovde, Washington Policy Center

Quote:

“A newly created long-term-care program in Washington state does not guarantee workers ‘long-term’ care. In its most recent meeting, state commission members acknowledged that the WA Cares Fund’s lifetime benefit of $36,500 will offer only partial help with most individuals’ long-term-care needs. … Several lawmakers and commission members are asking good questions about the law’s details and implementation. That’s encouraging. Not encouraging is a glossy marketing campaign full of false hope and a lack of information. The state’s ads for the  program that W2 workers are forced to join are pretty and show happy senior citizens, but they continue to give an inaccurate picture of the program’s benefits and limitations. The state should be sending a different message: Most of us will need long-term care. People should save, invest or buy insurance for it, when possible, and Washingtonians should not plan to use Medicaid as their long-term-care insurance plan. … Repealing the state’s long-term-care law is still the best move lawmakers can make, despite all the hard work and money state agencies are pouring into the misguided effort.”

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

The WA Cares Fund is doubling down on a bad plan that should be dropped altogether. Its glossy video ads would never pass a responsible private LTC insurance carrier’s compliance review. We thank Center friend and member Stephen D. Forman of corporate-member LTC Associates for tipping us to this article, which somehow slipped by us.