Warning: Initiative 2124 is a Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing
Working Washingtonians, and especially those caring for loved ones who are sick or aging, should be on the lookout for a crucial vote this November. If passed, Initiative 2124 will increase costs for working people, including nurses, teachers, and firefighters, by eliminating Washington’s long-term care insurance program.
There are more than 820,000 family caregivers in Washington State. I-2124 will remove an important benefit that helps families care for loved ones and avoid going into personal debt. Family caregivers are the backbone of our long-term care system, helping with everything from buying groceries and managing medications to bathing and dressing. Caring for a family member or close friend is one of the most important roles we will likely play. However, caregiving’s emotional, physical and financial tolls can be profound.
This initiative would hurt people like Christina Keys of Vancouver, who was in the prime of her life when her healthy 63-year-old mother suffered an unexpected stroke. Christina was shocked to learn her mother’s expensive private health insurance would not cover expenses like home care, so Christina had no choice but to leave her career to take care of her mom.
Washington State has taken steps to help families like Christina’s, but if I-2124 passes, it will push Christina and millions of families like hers into more debt.
Most of us want to stay in our own homes and communities as we age or face challenges caring for ourselves and our families. Washington’s long-term care insurance program provides some important relief. For instance, funds can help pay family caregivers to offset lost income while providing care. Funds can also be used to hire homecare aides and pay for home safety modifications, meal delivery or assistive technology. If passed, I-2124 will strip away these critical supports.
Contrary to what some might think, Medicare does not pay for most long-term care. And, Medicaid is often the payer of last resort, as families must completely drain their savings and assets to qualify. No one wants that.
Eliminating the state’s long-term care insurance program will throw us back into the expensive and broken insurance market, which routinely increases premiums by 50 percent, 100 percent, or even 300 percent. It would take away the only guaranteed long-term care coverage for people with cancer, diabetes, high blood pressure and other pre-existing conditions—about 57 percent of us over age 50—because they are denied long-term care insurance, even if they can afford the expensive premiums. And it hurts women who are discriminated against by private insurance companies, which charge women up to 70 percent more than men.
I-2124’s backers say their initiative helps people, but the truth is it will make things more expensive for women and working families.
AARP, the Washington State Nurses Association, labor unions representing home health care workers, doctors, grocery workers, teachers, and organizations like the MS Society representing Washingtonians living with pre-existing conditions are all urging a “no” vote on I-2124. Visit www.aarp.org/NoOn2124 to learn more.
Photo at top: Christina Keys visits with her mother, Patricia Keys, in the hospital. Patricia has since passed away. Photo courtesy of AARP Washington
Contributor Jason Erskine is Communications Director at AARP Washington. For information about AARP issues and events in Washington state, click here.
ADS Advisory Council takes action on three November ballot measures
At its July 2024 meeting, the Seattle-King County Advisory Council on Aging & Disability Services, which publishes AgeWise King County, took a position in opposition of three ballot initiatives:
- I-2124, addressed above, which would allow workers to opt out of long-term services insurance program
- I-2109, which would repeal the capital gains tax
- I-2117, which would prohibit state agencies from imposing any type of carbon tax credit trading
The Advisory Council would like to share the following information about these issues:
- What is WA Cares and Why Does It Matter for Washingtonians? (Economic Opportunity Institute)
- Washington state’s capital gains tax boosts investments in kids from Omak to Ocean Shores (Washington State Budget & Policy Center)
- Statement from Washington State Medical Association Opposing Initiative 2117 (WSMA)