“State is gathering stories about long-term care”

“State is gathering stories about long-term care,” by Elizabeth Hovde, Washington Policy Center

“Again, raising awareness is fine. Trying to create an affinity for a state program by painting people’s past hardships as something WA Cares could have alleviated is another. That is what the state has been doing for more than a year now, failing to recognize that many other ways to save for or invest in possible long-term-care needs exist, that many people have more than they’ll need for long-term care someday and that not everyone will qualify for the inadequate $36,500 lifetime benefit for state-approved needs and caregivers. Personal stories used in the state’s so-far one-sided marketing campaign should be balanced by stories about how this compulsory program and tax is impacting workers in the state today. For starters, the state should gather stories from low-income workers who live paycheck to paycheck but are still forced to give 58 cents of every $100 they earn to the state to be used by people who are not in need of taxpayer help.”

 

 

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

Would the Washington State Insurance Commissioner look the other way if a private LTC insurance carrier were using the same marketing tactics and misinformation as WA Cares?