With over 70% of Americans over the age of 65 requiring long-term care (Caregiver Resources & Long-Term Care, 2022), it’s no wonder that long-term care insurance is one of the most sought-after employee benefits. Moreover, Americans from 18-64 years old are requiring long-term care in greater numbers than ever. (Younger Adults in Long Term Care, 2025) No problem, right? Surely that type of care can just be covered by employer-sponsored medical insurance or an Affordable Care Act (ACA) Plan. Not so fast. As it turns out, medical insurance and ACA plans do not provide long-term care benefits, despite many Americans incorrectly believing they do.
With the cost of an in-home health aide approaching $80,000 and the annual cost of a nursing home exceeding $100,000 (Genworth and CareScout Release Cost of Care Survey Results for 2024, 2025), long-term care insurance can be hugely beneficial to most Americans. The problem is that only around 32% of US employers offer long-term care insurance plans (Age of Opportunity: Redefining Talent with the 65-and-Over Workforce, n.d.). For those without coverage, those are costs that can be nearly impossible for the average person to deal with.
That’s where the WA Cares Fund comes in. In 2019, the state of Washington enacted WA Cares, a state-run program meant to provide long-term care benefits to qualifying state residents. The program, financed by a modest payroll tax of 0.58%, provides a lifetime benefit up to $36,500. A year after rollout, the program boasted $1 billion in reserves, with the first payouts due to occur in July 2026.
The template and anticipated success of the WA Cares Fund provided a blueprint for other states to consider adding state-run long-term care programs. In California, a long-term care task force was created in 2019, putting forward five potential program designs for the governor’s review. In Pennsylvania, two bills were introduced to the PA State House in 2022 and 2023, though neither were put to the floor for a vote. In addition to these, several other states have established committees to study the feasibility of implementing a long-term care program.
It is the hope that these programs can provide a safety net for people to get the care they need while also easing states’ growing Medicaid budgets. As a first-in-the-nation program, WA Cares will be under intense scrutiny as other states begin their studies into similar initiatives. As of now, WA Cares’ finances appear to be in order for a 75 year projection period, giving much needed hope to those who require long-term care in the state.
