Initiative 2124 (WA Cares) rejected by voters

Washington voters reject Initiative 2124, upholding the WA Cares program with 55.5% voting to keep the mandatory payroll tax for long-term care insurance. Image courtesy Carleen Johnson

As of Tuesday night, 55.5% of voters rejected the measure, with 44.5% voting in favor of it

Carleen Johnson
The Center Square Washington

Initiative 2124, which would allow Washington workers to opt out of the mandatory payroll tax that funds WA Cares – the state’s long-term care insurance program – was rejected by voters based on initial returns Tuesday night.

I-2124 was one of four initiatives on the Nov. 5 ballot backed by the political action committee Let’s Go Washington.

As of Tuesday night, 55.5% of voters rejected the measure, with 44.5% voting in favor of it.

If it had passed, the measure would have allowed employees to opt out of coverage at any time and would have repealed a current law governing exemptions for employees who had purchased long-term care insurance before Nov. 1, 2021.

House Bill 1087 created the Long-Term Care Services and Supports Program, which provides a limited lifetime benefit – up to $36,000 – for long-term care costs. The program is funded via a payroll tax of 58 cents per $100 earned, which took effect July 1, 2023.

More than 475,000 Washingtonians who were able to opt out of the program did so during a limited opt-out period after providing proof of securing private long-term care coverage.

In a November 2019 advisory vote, nearly 63% of Washington voters said HB 1087 should be repealed.

House Republicans came out in support of I-2124 noting, “A new payroll tax is financially burdensome for someone living paycheck-to-paycheck. Someone could pay into the system for the duration of his or her career and never need to use the benefit. Or, someone could pay into the system for years, move to another state to retire, and never get to use the benefit.”

Opponents of the state’s long-term care program have also raised questions about the program’s solvency, pointing out that the payroll tax will likely have to be increased to keep the fund afloat.

Those against I-2124 claimed doing away with WA Cares would destroy the state’s long-term care benefits program instead of improving it.

The Washington State Employment Security Department and the Department of Social and Health Services administer the WA Cares program and previously told The Center Square that if the opt-out measure passes, workers who have paid into the program will not get that money back.

This report was first published by The Center Square Washington.