Numerous states are trying to create a long-term care insurance program funded by a payroll tax, but it looks like Washington will be the first to actually do it. All that’s required is a House revote on a Senate package that was passed early last week.
The Senate tweaked a few aspects of a proposal passed earlier by the House, so approval appears all but assured. The governor, provider associations and many others have supported the measure, which would cap the lifetime benefit maximum at $36,500 per person.
Providers could start collecting payment from the program beginning in January 2025. The measure covers traditional long-term care services for people needing help with at least three activities of daily living, as well as things like in-home care and meal delivery, rides to the doctor, home modifications such as wheelchair ramps, and reimbursements to unpaid family caregivers.
Premiums of 0.58% of wages would begin being withheld from employees’ checks starting in 2022. Someone earning $50,000 per year would pay a premium of about $24 per month, or $288 per year. Under the Senate version, individuals holding long-term care insurance policies would be exempt.
Provider and consumer groups testified in favor of The Long Term Care Trust Act, and nobody testified against it, at a House Health & Wellness Committee hearing in January.
