Robin Hills Von Davies: If passed, initiative would bankrupt state’s long term care program
By Robin Hills Von Davies
The initiatives on this year’s ballot are intentionally deceptive, purposefully worded to mislead voters into thinking they will reduce taxes when in fact they will shift and increase costs for essential services and protections to middle and low income working families and benefit a handful of very wealthy individuals and corporations.
That’s why it’s so important that voters get as much information as possible about the measures’ true impact. Earlier this month, a state superior court agreed, and ruled against the initiative backers’ attempt to hide legally required public impact disclosure information from appearing on the ballot.
Initiative 2124, for example, is worded to sound like a small change – making our state long term care insurance program voluntary. But what’s not stated, is that change would bankrupt the program and take care benefits away from more than 3.5 million Washingtonians.
To those who say “why should I pay into something that doesn’t affect me?” – consider the implications that cutting funding for long term care coverage will have on our entire community. We are experiencing an escalating care crisis – not enough caregivers and an aging population. It has a trickle down effect on all of us. Nearly 1 in 4 Americans are caring for a loved one. When workers must scale back their hours or quit their job, it worsens the labor shortage and hobbles businesses’ ability to retain good employees. When patients can’t afford the care and support they need at home, it adds additional pressure onto an already stretched health care system, leading to longer ER wait times and higher healthcare costs.
When a middle-age mother has a car accident and now needs assistance at home she can’t afford, that burden falls on her family. Her 19-year-old son is now cutting hours at his part time job and taking time off from college or vocational training to step in. Her aging parents are being asked to help pay for home modifications from their retirement savings. This scenario isn’t conducive to the thriving economy that Spokane families need.
Having insurance is smart. We get car insurance for our vehicles, home insurance for our homes, and health insurance for our medical needs. No one wants to think about themselves or a loved one eventually needing long-term care, but living in denial is like gambling with your health, livelihood, and finances, as well as your family’s.
As a medical student and future Washington state physician I can tell you that if the need for help with daily living activities like dressing, bathing, getting around, managing meals or medication – hasn’t affected you or your family personally, it almost certainly will.
Without our state long term care insurance benefits, we will be back to having no choice but to pay exorbitantly high premiums, even after retiring, for private long term care insurance, pay out of pocket to cover the expenses associated with getting care, or draining our life savings, selling our assets and even losing our home to qualify for Medicaid.
When I worked at a home health agency before entering medical school, I experienced how tragic the outcomes can be when folks can’t afford home care assistance. One client I can’t forget became what we call “a fall risk.” She slipped and became wedged against her bathroom counter and her toilet, ultimately dying from loss of circulation. I still think about how her fate could have been prevented if a home care aide had been present, but accessing and affording that care is out of reach for most people today.
It may surprise many to learn that neither health insurance nor Medicare covers long term care expenses. Only those without a pre-existing condition, and high wealth individuals, may be able to obtain and pay the premiums for a private long term care insurance policy. That leaves out the vast majority of Washingtonians.
Washington’s long term care benefit is a gamechanger. The data doesn’t lie- most of us will need some form of support with daily living activities at some point in our lives, or we’ll be caring for a loved one who does. Our benefits will help us stay at home as long as possible safely and with dignity.
Because we know how critical this benefit is to improving quality of life for our patients, hundreds of doctors, nurses and other health care providers strongly oppose Initiative 2124.
Robin Hills Von Davies is a medical student at Washington State University in Spokane and member of Washington State Physicians for Social Responsibility.