Persistent marketing promotes something most W2 workers in Washington state are forced to do without any prompting: participate in WA Cares. Money well spent? No. It’s been unnecessary spending, at best, for more than a year. 

Now, with Initiative 2124 asking voters if they want to make the long-term-care (LTC) program and payroll tax optional in November, promoting a program lawmakers imposed on workers is also questionable. 

The state isn’t breaking its rules. As the Department of Social and Health Services, which is in charge of WA Cares communications, told me, “It's not our role to do any outreach related to Initiative 2124. We are continuing to implement the program according to current law and will adjust course appropriately if the law changes. That includes continuing our usual outreach, which is part of our statutory responsibility for the program.”

Much of the usual outreach has been costly, unnecessary, confusing and often misleading, giving Washingtonians false hope. Some of the people who hear or see advertisements for WA Cares are left with the impression that the payroll tax they pay will earn them a benefit someday when it might not. Details in the law say otherwise. That’s dangerous to them and to the state budget. Long-term-care services through Medicaid are provided to those who don’t have resources. (Medicaid also finances LTC for many who do have ample resources. Read more about that here.)

In the beginning of April, DSHS said it had spent almost $5 million taxpayer dollars on “WA Cares outreach” since the long-term-care law that created WA Cares was enacted in July 2019. The spending included ad creation and purchases, mailers, staff time for outreach efforts and WA Cares website management. That adds up to potential lifetime benefits for about 137 people who end up qualifying for a benefit from WA Cares. An additional $310,900 was spent developing the WA Cares website. Ouch. 

While a website providing information should exist for people forced to give money to this new, mandatory program with details still in the making, that’s a lot of money. 

WA Cares outreach and advertisements often do much more than offer information. They try to create an affinity for WA Cares and, as DSHS says, the usually scheduled WA Cares outreach will continue. 

One of my biggest pet peeves has been the oft-repeated message telling Washingtonians they can have peace of mind about long-term care because WA Cares exists. The reality is the $36,500 lifetime benefit attached to WA Cares is inadequate to cover most people’s long-term care needs when they have them. Also, many people will not qualify for money from WA Cares, even though they pay 58 cents on every $100 they earn. Contribution and health requirements for WA Cares ensure that. 

Solvency concerns also threaten benefits from WA Cares. To keep the program solvent, legislators and members of an oversight commission have discussed the possibility of increasing the payroll tax or the number of hours people need to work to earn a qualifying year. Workers already won’t qualify for WA Cares if they have a break in formal work. Vestment criteria says most workers will need to pay into the fund for 10 years without a break of five or more years to earn a benefit. 

Outreach efforts are only a small part of the administrative expenses for the fund, of course. Creating and managing WA Cares is expensive. Who knew? (The long-term-care-insurance industry in existence before WA Cares was imposed on W2 workers knew.) 

Administrative expenses

The budget appropriation for WA Cares in the 2021-2023 biennium was $49,714,938. Thankfully, expenses reported for that period were slightly lower at $42,845,485. The budget appropriation for 2023-2025 is $78,039,772. That amount does not include any supplemental requests made during fiscal year 2024, an expense report from November says. Payouts from the fund don't begin until 2026.

More than 3 million workers are paying taxes for WA Cares. Almost all of them mandatorily. A quarterly update in December informed the oversight commission that by the fourth quarter of 2023, just 381 self-employed workers had opted in. In the first quarter of 2024, the number of active self-employed workers who opted into the program would be up to 559. Commissioners were also reminded that 533,978 people already had approved exemptions. 

The state would be wise to save money in the WA Cares Fund. It needs all the money it can get to keep the misguided gamble of a program solvent. Pro-WA Cares messaging is an easy cut. It has always been unnecessary, seems inappropriate now and if I-2124 succeeds, the state will likely be rethinking WA Cares.