After years of roadblocks and political controversy, the state’s long-term care program, the WA Cares Fund, is finally moving toward full implementation.
The fund will begin a limited rollout in early 2026, as the state prepares to invest program dollars following voter approval of a constitutional amendment allowing investments in stocks and other equities. While WA Cares will open in select counties in January, its investment strategy will ramp up more gradually.
Starting Jan. 6, the program will be piloted in four counties for a small group of applicants and beneficiaries: Lewis, Mason, Thurston and Spokane. Jessica Nelson, a spokesperson for the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services, said the pilot will test the system before a full launch in July to ensure a smooth statewide rollout. Screening has already begun, she said.
Next, on April 1, eligible workers and recent retirees who contributed to the fund will be able to create online accounts to review their contributions and prepare to apply for benefits. DSHS will begin accepting applications in mid-May, and approved beneficiaries can begin using benefits starting July 1.
Working Washingtonians contribute to the state-run public fund, monthly, with a 0.58% payroll deduction. Eligible individuals can access up to $36,500 to pay for things like in-home care, medical equipment or nursing homes, with the benefit amount indexed to inflation. Supporters say it will help cover costs during illness or long-term care needs, but critics argue the benefits fall far short of long-term care expenses.
Nelson said that as of September, about 4.5 million workers have contributed to the fund since premium collections began in July 2023, a total that includes everyone who has ever paid in, including those who have moved out of state.
Earlier this month, voters approved a constitutional amendment that allows the state to invest WA Care funds in stocks and other equities, with the goal of growing the balance over time. The Washington State Investment Board oversees the fund's investment strategy and consults with the Long Term Services and Support Trust Commission's Investment Strategy Subcommittee “to ensure its investment decisions align with program objectives and needs,” Nelson said.
James Aber, a spokesperson for the investment board, said that while the amendment allows for the possibility of investing WA Cares dollars in the private market, the board is not currently considering that option. He added that the board will spend the next year conducting a strategic asset allocation study for the fund.
Aber noted that equities have historically generated higher return than fixed-income investments, though they come with greater risk. He said there are other state accounts managed by the WSIB, such as the Guaranteed Education Tuition program, that have similar mixes of equities and fixed income.
“We’ve gone through this process before and it's a rigorous process,” Aber said, referring to the board's review of a fund's asset allocation. He said the board does extensive modeling and weighs qualitative and quantitative factors when determining how to invest. A strategic asset allocation study is completed every four years for each fund managed by the board.
While proponents of the measure said it would help the fund grow and keep premiums low without raising taxes, opponents argued it puts public money at risk. The first attempt at passing a constitutional amendment to invest the fund failed in 2020.
The program has seen many changes since its inception.
The long-term services program was enacted in 2019 by the state Legislature. In 2022, lawmakers updated it to ensure contributors, including those near retirement, could claim benefits, allowing people born before 1968 to earn 10% of the full benefit for every year they pay in. That same year, lawmakers delayed the payroll tax collection to 2023 and allowed groups such as disabled veterans, active-duty military spouses and out-of-state residents who work in Washington to opt out.
In 2024, a change allowed workers who contribute to the fund for at least three years to keep participating in the program and eventually claim benefits, even if they are out of state.
And most recently, lawmakers created a framework for a WA Cares-supplemental private long-term care insurance market.
Nelson said private polices that complement WA Cares could become available by early 2027. These plans — if available based on the standard rules and evaluations private insurers use to determine eligibility — would let workers buy coverage beyond what the program offers.
“Workers who would like more long-term care insurance than what WA Cares provides will be able to purchase additional insurance on the private market, likely more affordably than is the case today, because these policies will take WA Cares as the deductible,” she said.
The LTSS Trust Commission, according to Nelson, is not currently recommending any additional changes in the upcoming legislative session.
Those who wish to participate in the pilot can go to wacaresfund.wa.gov/pilot for more information.
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