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WA Cares Fund director summarizes earned-benefit design, portability and contribution rules
Summary
Ben Vechty, director of the WA Cares Fund, summarized how the program was designed as a universal, worker-funded long‑term services and supports program, described contribution and vesting rules, portability changes and the recommended relationship to private insurance.
Ben Vechty, director of the WA Cares Fund at DSHS’ Aging and Long Term Support Administration, gave the committee an overview of the WA Cares universal long‑term care program, its financing model and how benefits will be earned and used.
Vechty described the rationale for WA Cares: long‑term care costs are high and many workers lack savings or private insurance. He said WA Cares is an earned benefit financed entirely through worker payroll contributions (0.58% of wages) and that benefits are paid from the program’s trust rather than the general fund. Vechty said the median worker would pay the equivalent of about $291 per year (about $24 per month) at the stated contribution rate.
Vechty explained vesting pathways: a standard career pathway (roughly a 10‑year contribution window), prorated benefits for near‑retirees who paid in fewer years, and an acute‑need pathway for workers who paid in at least three of the previous six years and then encounter a disabling event. He said the full benefit was described in testimony as starting at about $36,500 (indexed to inflation) and that benefits are portable, a change the Legislature adopted recently so beneficiaries may use benefits if they move out of state.
Vechty addressed program design choices that affect public‑private balance. He said universal, community‑rated public insurance requires mandatory participation to avoid adverse selection and that 2021 legislative changes grandfathered prior private‑long‑term‑care purchasers while stabilizing the program’s finances going forward. He said the LTSS Trust Commission has recommended a public‑foundation model with optional private supplemental coverage for those who want higher benefits.
Vechty closed by noting WA Cares is administered across multiple agencies: DSHS (eligibility and assessments), Employment Security Department (premium collection and exemptions), Health Care Authority (provider payments and usage tracking), and the Office of State Actuary (financial monitoring). He offered to answer follow‑up questions and provide additional detail offline.
