Opinion: It’s not fraud; it’s WA Cares

Let’s Go Washington shares highlights from the ‘yes’ on I-2124 campaign’s meeting with the Seattle Times, focusing on WA Cares and long-term care options.

Let’s Go Washington shares highlights of the ‘yes’ on I-2124 campaign’s endorsement meeting with The Seattle Times

Hallie Balch
Let’s Go Washington

In case you missed it, Sen. Mark Mullet (D-Issaquah) and Brian Heywood represented the “yes” on I-2124 campaign in a Seattle Times endorsement meeting last week. The “no” campaign tried to tug on the heartstrings of the Ed Board, but Senator Mullet and Brian Heywood refuted their every claim with facts and reminded viewers that the job of the legislature is to represent the will of the people – the same will that rejected the funding structure for WA Cares twice.

If you don’t have an hour to watch the full debate, read below for some of the more compelling moments of the conversation:

The opposition repeatedly quoted projections from the State Actuary predicting that WA Cares will no longer have sufficient funds to operate if people are allowed to opt-out of the program, but they didn’t care to listen to the State Actuary when it reported that WA Cares would be insolvent on inception.
Senator Mullet pointed out that if the goal was simply to sign Washingtonians up for long term healthcare coverage, why close the opt-out window?
The opposition made it clear that if you don’t support WA Cares, you don’t know what it’s like to be in need of long term care or have a family member who needs it. The opposite is true since $36,500 from WA Cares will provide 3-5 months of coverage at best and that amount is in no way sufficient to care for the long term healthcare needs of most residents.
There were a number of affordable long term care plans available to Washingtonians before WA Cares was enacted, but the creation of the program decimated the market. The market will rebound and more long term care options will become available when WA Cares becomes optional and workers can choose their own plans again.
Opposition acknowledged some of the many flaws with WA Cares, but claimed that because I-2124 was on the ballot, they were hamstrung and could not make necessary improvements. We guess we’re sorry that the voice of the people threw such a wrench in their plans, but the truth is that the legislature has had years to improve on the program and address the necessary revisions, they have simply chosen not to.
While opposition to 2124 claims that WA Cares will collapse when it becomes optional, Senator Mullet addressed the fact that there will be billions of dollars in the WA Cares account that lawmakers can decide how to use for those who remain opted in to the program.

Bottom Lines: The No on 2124 campaign can’t seem to answer one simple question: If WA Cares is such a good program, why not make it optional? If it’s good enough, Washingtonians will remain opted-in. Lawmakers in Olympia are afraid of the voice of the people because history has shown, especially in the case of WA Cares, lawmakers and voters do not share the same opinion. Washingtonians deserve a choice in their long term care coverage and though Olympia wants to believe it knows what’s best for all residents, it obviously doesn’t. The only way to guarantee all people get the care that is best for them is by making the deeply flawed WA Cares program optional.

Visit letsgowashington.com for more information.