“Washington State’s Public Long-Term Care Program Is On The Verge Of Becoming Law,” by Howard Gleckman, Forbes

“A first-in-the-nation state long-term care insurance program is likely to become law within a few weeks. In Washington State, both houses of the legislature have approved the measure, though they must resolve relatively minor differences between the two bills. Gov. Jay Inslee has promised to sign it. … At a recent industry conference, private long-term care insurance carriers expressed some interest in developing products to supplement Washington’s relatively limited state coverage.”

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

Will this new program awaken the public to LTC risk and make private wrap-around products more popular? I think not because expecting that ignores the reality that government already pays for most expensive long-term care. Transferring even more of the risk to government by draining ever more capital from private investment markets will hurt Washington’s economy and further desensitize the public to LTC risk. But now we will see. The great thing about federalism is that it allows states to experiment and succeed or fail without risking a wasteful nationwide boondoggle like CLASS. If you want to understand what Washington state’s real problem is and how to solve it, read our 2004 study What We Don’t Know About Medicaid and Long-Term Care is Hurting Washington State.