Initiative 2124 does not eliminate the “only avenue to get long-term care coverage” as stated by Christina Keys in guest commentary published in The Chronicle.
The initiative gives people employed in Washington the opportunity to “opt out” of contributing to WA Cares. If the worker does “opt out,” they would not be eligible for the program. There are many reasons why a person would want to “opt out.”
The law reads:
“RCW 50B.04.080 for the equivalent of either: (a) A total of ten years without interruption of five or more consecutive years; or (b) Three years within the last six years from the date of application for benefits. (2) A person born before January 1, 1968, who has not met the duration requirements under subsection (1)(a) of this section may become a qualified individual with fewer than the number of years identified in subsection (1)(a) of this section if the person has paid the long-term services and supports premiums required by RCW 50B.04.080 for at least one year. A person becoming a qualified individual pursuant to this subsection (2) may receive one-tenth of the maximum number of benefit units available under RCW 50B.04.060(3)(b) for each year of premium payments. In accordance with RCW 50B.04.060, benefits will not be available until July 1, 2026.”
Therefore, under the law as it was written, people born before 1968 would be required to pay the tax without any hope of benefiting in a helpful way from the WA Cares program. As she stated, the program was made portable so if Washingtonians who have paid in can keep the coverage, out-of-state participants will keep contributing to the fund during their working years. The state will create a process for out-of-state participants to report their earnings and pay premiums, with a focus on making it easy for participants
This initiative is about choice. I am voting yes because the initiative doesn’t repeal the law, it changes the law to give workers the choice to opt out.
Cindy Colson
Cinebar
