Protect a benefit many will need as they age
By Jackie Boschok / For The Herald
The choices we make with our votes on candidates and issues this November have enormous consequences for our future here in Washington. Take ballot Initiative 2124, for example, which will be on the Nov. 5 general election ballot. According to independent experts, the measure if passed would cost the state millions of dollars and have the effect of killing long term care benefits for 3.9 million workers.
Initiative backers misleadingly drafted the measure to sound like a reasonable change; make the program voluntary. But as anyone with a basic understanding of how insurance works knows, that change would bankrupt the program, draining funding to pay out benefits to those who need them most.
Why is this issue so important to our future? A confluence of factors is creating a dual crisis for families and our economy. Our population as a whole is aging, and our workforce is shrinking. Despite more of us living longer and needing care, there is a shortage of people to provide that care. More people aren’t having children, or live away from friends and family who could help. One in 4 people — most commonly, women — are forced to scale back or quit their jobs in order to care for a loved one, exacerbating the labor shortage.
Few realize that neither health insurance nor Medicare cover long term care needs; help with daily living activities like dressing, bathing, getting around, managing meals and medication. Given that most of us have less than $5,000 in savings, we are unprepared to pay out of pocket, or afford the expensive premiums for private long term care insurance. Washington’s long term care insurance program was created to help cover the costs of a home care aide, home modifications such as ramps and grab bars, and medical equipment that will enable us to stay in our homes. Should it pass, Initiative 2124 will bankrupt that program, increasing medical costs for families, and especially harming women and people with pre-existing conditions, including diabetes, high blood pressure, cancer and other diseases, those who would be rejected by private long term care insurance companies.
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