“Put long-term care within reach,” by Laurie Jinkins and Norm Johnson, Seattle Times

“Our legislation would create a long-term care insurance benefit to help seniors and their families pay for long-term services and support while protecting seniors’ retirement savings and assets. Funds from a 0.49 percent assessment deducted from workers’ pay would fund the trust and be disbursed through a program overseen by a public-private commission. Workers would be eligible to draw on the benefits of the trust after they’ve worked three of the past six years, or 10 years total.”

LTC Comment (from Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for Long-Term Care Reform):
We lend today’s LTC Comment space to longtime Center friend and supporter, LTCI expert Bill Comfort who sent us this comment:

“What a mess.  And it’s not ‘long-term’ care as it only pays for 365 days.  The bill’s provisions would not pass muster with ANY state DOI [Department of Insurance] as LTC insurance. (There’s a link to the 7-page bill in the column).

“Scott Olsen puts it nicely:  “Call this what it really is:  a tax on the poor and the working class to get them to pay for care that they currently get for free under Medicaid!”

“[Bill’s] commentary:  It’s ironic how the columnists (the bill’s sponsors) use a person with dementia as an example when the bill doesn’t even allow for dementia (or a “cognitive impairment” as commonly used in LTC insurance) to qualify a person for benefits!!! It only mentions physical “Activities of Daily Living” and that person must need help with three (3) which is more restrictive than private LTC insurance that only requires help with two (2). People with ‘cognitive impairments’ may never need physical help, and if they ever do it is very late in the progression of their disease when this benefit wouldn’t help families the way it purports to during early stages of care at home when families are most at risk.  – Bill Comfort”

Put Long-Term Care Within Reach

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