Lu Hill: For our elders and our communities, the state long-term care program must be protected

When we were younger, my sister and I were mostly raised by my grandmother, who took care of us and her mother – my great-grandmother. This created a multigenerational environment and so many fond memories for me of curling up with my great-grandmother and hearing her stories while she crocheted. These memories and experiences were formative in my life – and I’m so grateful that my great-grandmother could age in her own home and be surrounded by her family when she died.

But I know my story is unique and that for many people, it’s simply not viable for their family members to take care of them when they age or if they become disabled. That’s why when the WA Cares long-term care program passed in our state, I was so pleased to know that Washington workers will start to have some funding set aside to pay for long-term care if and when they need it.

WA Cares is a first-in-the-nation, state-level long-term care program paid by a modest payroll tax. It covers things like home care aides, family members’ time caring for a loved one (a supplement to our state’s Family Caregiver Support Program), wheelchairs, home modifications and residential care. WA Cares is set up to allow seniors, and disabled or severely ill adults, to live with dignity and stability.

But now, this important new safety net program is at risk on the ballot with Initiative 2124, which seeks to overturn it. The misleading ballot wording on I-2124 leads voters to believe the initiative is just about giving people a choice to opt out of the program. But the reality is that when some people opt out of this program, it will increase the premiums for everyone else and ultimately bankrupt the program – taking away benefits from more than 85% of working Washingtonians.

This deceptive initiative was spearheaded by a hedge fund manager and a small group of ultra-wealthy people and special interests – the same group of people behind November ballot initiatives that would slash critical funding for schools (I-2109) and for programs that curb pollution (I-2117). These are the efforts of people more interested in hoarding wealth than supporting the well-being of all our families, friends and neighbors.

If I-2124 passes, people who don’t have the means to pay for long-term care and can’t afford or don’t qualify for private insurance will be forced to drain savings, or sign over their homes, to qualify for Medicaid because neither Medicare nor health insurance covers these expenses. What’s more, people with pre-existing conditions will lose access to the only long-term care benefit that actually covers them.

WA Cares was designed to complement other critical public safety nets like Social Security, Medicare and Disability Insurance. Thanks to improvements lawmakers made to the program this past legislative session, people in Washington who have paid into the program can now keep their benefits even if they move out of state.

There’s a reason why groups like AARP, Washington State Nurses Association, League of Women Voters Washington, National Multiple Sclerosis Society, Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, and hundreds of other organizations, health care practitioners, and advocates for working families have endorsed the No on 2124 campaign. Our communities and our economies are worse off when people aren’t able to access much-needed care, are bankrupted by the out-of-pocket cost of long-term care, or are faced with the financial, physical, and emotional tolls of quitting a job to take care of a loved one.

And let’s not forget the fact that long-term care coverage helps to address gender and race inequities. Given that women, particularly women of color, are more likely to take on caretaking responsibilities, support from programs like WA Cares can provide a lifeline.

Most of us will need some form of long-term care in our lives. If that time comes for me, I want to be able to afford whatever support I may need. I hope to have meaningful time, and to make lasting memories, with my own kids and family members. We all deserve to live with dignity when we need long-term care, without being weighed down by constant worries about money. To support our elders and our communities, join me in voting no on I-2124 in November.

Lacrecia “Lu” Hill is a fourth-generation Spokane resident who has long been involved in supporting the community in the nonprofit, philanthropic and small business sectors. She currently is the community engagement and strategy director at Empire Health Foundation. These thoughts are her own.