Elizabeth Hovde of the Washington Policy Center is still encouraging lawmakers to seek a repeal in 2023
Elizabeth Hovde
Washington Policy Center
The WA Cares Fund exemption window for people who had private long-term-care insurance closes next month. And another 788 people applied to get out of the payroll tax between Oct. 14 and Nov. 14. Interestingly, there has been an uptick in applications the past two months, after half a year of lower application numbers.
As of Nov. 14, the Employment Security Department reports the following:
- Total opt-out requests submitted: 480,499
- Total opt-out requests approved: 476,841
- Incomplete applications: 3,550
- Total opt-out requests processed: 480,391
- Applications processed as a percentage of total: 99.98%
If you’re a person who has private long-term-care insurance (LTCI) — purchased before Nov. 1, 2021, as is required — you’ll want to jump through the exemption hoops available on the “Exemptions” page of the WA Cares website. If you’re one of the people counted as having an incomplete application, you should be sure to follow up. If your application was approved, you should have gotten a letter from the state that you need to show your employer. The payroll tax of 58 cents for every $100 a worker earns will begin in July 2023 without approval and proof shown to an employer.
After the new year, more exemptions will be made available to select groups who know they can’t benefit from WA Cares from the start, including workers who live outside of the state, non-immigrant visa holders, military spouses and certain veterans with disabilities. That was a change made in this year’s legislative session. These groups of people can also use the exemptions page of the WA Cares website to guide them in applying.
The commission overseeing the state’s long-term law has been mulling more possible changes to the program and tax. That’s because WA Cares is unpopular, the law was poorly written, and it will treat many people unfairly. Read my look at recent commission activity here.
The Long-Term Services and Supports (LTSS) Trust Commission has a slew of recommendations it is readying for the Legislature. Unfortunately, those recommendations don’t include repealing the misguided law and letting Washingtonians keep more of their money for needs today or to allocate for life needs they’ll have in the future. Let’s hope lawmakers seek repeal in 2023.
Elizabeth Hovde is a policy analyst and the director of the Centers for Health Care and Worker Rights at the Washington Policy Center. She is a Clark County resident.
Also read:
- Letter: ‘Are we being punked?’
Anna Miller questions the Clark County Council’s authority to pass a resolution on ICE and urges members to focus on core county responsibilities. - Letter: ‘People who have entered illegally must face the consequences of their actions’
Vancouver resident Debra Kalz argues the County Council should not pass immigration-related resolutions and says laws must be followed or changed through proper channels. - Opinion: IBR’s systematic disinformation campaign, its demise
Neighbors for a Better Crossing challenges IBR’s seismic claims and promotes a reuse-and-tunnel alternative they say would save billions at the I-5 crossing. - Letter: ‘Our forefathers warned us to assemble when government rules over We The People’
La Center resident Kimberlee Goheen Elbon criticizes the County Council’s handling of immigration-related meetings and urges residents to assemble and speak out. - Opinion: ‘County Council meetings have become an embarrassment to our community’
Ken Vance criticizes recent Clark County Council meeting conduct and calls for increased security and stronger leadership from Chair Sue Marshall.
