What is WA Cares?
WA Cares is a new long term care fund JUST for working Washingtonians.
- It’s easy: Just like Social Security & Medicare, if you work, you are automatically enrolled in WA Cares.
- Small payments: A small amount ($0.58 per $100) is automatically withheld by your employer. Private long term care insurance can cost $5,000 – $7,000 per year for a retired couple.
- Not working? No payments: When you retire or take time off work, you don’t pay in, but your coverage continues. Private insurance premiums keep going up, especially after you retire.
- Benefits: Benefits of up to $36,500 start in 2026 and increase with inflation over time.
- Broad coverage: Covers pre-existing conditions like cancer, diabetes, MS, and high blood pressure. Most private insurance won’t.
WA Cares Now Covers Near-Retirees
Thanks to lawmakers in Olympia, WA Cares now covers a million more Washingtonians who are retiring in the next few years.
Most people don’t realize that Medicare and health insurance do not cover home care or the costs of living in a long term care facility.
Research shows that 70 % of us will need some type of long-term care, yet only 7% can afford long-term care insurance.
With WA Cares, fewer of us will be forced to drain our families savings to afford care for our loved ones. Now fewer families will have to spend down to poverty level to qualify for Medicaid.
How WA Cares Works
If you have Cancer, Diabetes, Dementia or another injury or illness, WA Cares will be there to pay for the help you need.
WA Cares is there for you even if you are denied benefits by your health insurance, Medicare, or private long term care insurance.
You choose what WA Cares pays for, including:
- Home care aide to help you with bathing, moving around, meal preparation, errands, and other basic living tasks in your own home.
- Paying a loved one for their time caring for you
- Wheelchairs, hospital beds, ramps and other home modifications
- Care in a nursing or long term care facility if needed
“We never thought we’d need WA Cares. We were wrong.”
“My wife Dani was partially paralyzed in a routine medical procedure. Like most families, we don’t have enough to pay for a home care aide if she ever needs one. Now thanks to WA Cares, we have more options. We both put in a little from our paychecks now, and WA Cares will pay for a home care aide, and more. So I can keep working, knowing Dani is well cared for at home.”
– Sam Rice Asotin, WA
Compare Your Long Term Care Coverage Options In Washington State
| WA CARES | PRIVATE INSURANCE | |
|---|---|---|
| Coverage: Cancer, diabetes, MS, high blood pressure, other pre-existing conditions |  |  |
| Choice: Stay home, or wherever’s best for you when you need help | | |
| Cost: No premium for decades after retirement, or between jobs | | |
| Cost: Women pay same as men, no surprise jumps in premiums or cancellations | | |
You will probably need long term care
WA Cares helps families avoid spending down their savings or selling their homes to qualify for Medicaid.
You will probably need long term care at some point
Around 40% of people needing long-term care services or support today are younger than 65.
More than 70% of people 65 and older will need long-term care services or support at some point in their lives.
Women typically need care for an average of 3.7 years, while men require it for 2.2 years.
More: LongTermCare.gov
You may need long term care for just a few months while you recover from surgery or a fall. Or you may need long-term care for months or years.
Like most people, you may receive care in your own home from licensed care professionals. With WA Cares, you can receive paid care from your family members – most private insurers won’t cover family caregivers.
WA Cares will pay a family member for their time caring for you.
Learn more about long term care from the NIH Institute on Aging.
Did you know?
Health insurance does not cover long-term care.
Medicare does not cover long-term care, but may cover some costs of short-term care in a nursing home after a hospital stay.
Many corporate insurance polices only cover long term care in nursing homes, not long term care in your own home.