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Tackling the High Cost of Care

After long wait, WA Cares Fund launches

Julie Rasicot,

AARP

Published May 01, 2026

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A longtime caregiver for relatives, Rebecca Holmes knows what it’s like to need help during a medical crisis but not have the resources to pay for it.

About 20 years ago, she was transitioning between jobs and waiting for new health insurance to kick in when she became ill and couldn’t care for her family.

Unfortunately, she and her husband were stuck, she says: The family made too much money to qualify for Medicaid but not enough to hire a caregiver. Now 47 and single, the mother of three lives in Olympia and provides freelance administrative support for the Washington Association of Area Agencies on Aging, known as W4A.

It’s because of that crisis and others over the years that Holmes is looking forward to participating in the Washington Cares Fund, Washington state’s public long-term care insurance program. The first-in-the-nation program was enacted in 2019 following years of advocacy by AARP and others.

Now, after adjustments to the law amid some continuing opposition, the program is set to begin paying benefits July 1. It’s a moment long anticipated by those who’ve advocated for the program.

“It’s very exciting, but it’s also — I kind of hold my breath. Will it really meet everybody’s needs?” asks AARP Washington Advocacy Director Cathleen MacCaul, who has worked on the issue for 13 years. She adds that there are “constantly going to be improvements that could be made, and I think we’re willing to continue to look at those.”

Funded by a payroll tax since 2023, the program provides a lifetime benefit of up to $36,500 (to be adjusted automatically for inflation) to workers who have contributed for 10 years and apply for a long-term care need, according to the WA Cares Fund website.

All full- and part-time workers pay 0.58 percent of their paychecks to fund the program, although some exemptions are available. If they want to participate, self-employed workers must opt in to the program.

A worker earning about $50,000 a year, for example, pays an annual contribution of about $290, according to the website. Once retired, workers stop paying the tax but keep the benefit. And starting in 2030, people who have moved out of state can still apply if they’ve paid in.

Workers will continue to pay into the fund through the payroll tax throughout their working years, even if they access the full benefit before retirement, says Ben Veghte, director of the WA Cares Fund.

Veghte likened it to Social Security or Medicare. For those programs, people pay in over their careers in order to earn access to a certain benefit, which some people may claim earlier or later or during their career.

Applications open in May

On May 18, eligible individuals can begin applying for benefits. Do so on the WA Cares Fund website, by calling the program’s benefit customer care center or by going to an Area Agency on Aging.

Once an application is submitted, program staff will check with the state’s Employment Security Department to see if the worker has qualified by paying the payroll tax. Next comes an assessment, to determine if the applicant has care needs.

Two other pathways for receiving benefits are available. Those born before 1968 who have contributed for at least one year can apply for prorated benefits. And a worker who has been paying the tax for three of the prior six years at the time of application can receive the full $36,500. “If you had been paying in for the last three years, and let’s say you had a stroke, or you had an accident, and you need to apply for benefits, you’d be eligible for the full $36,500,” Veghte says.

With about 70 percent of people expected to need long-term care within their lifetimes, the program’s benefits can help pay for care to live independently — whether it is needed later in life or after an accident or illness.

MacCaul of AARP Washington says the program is driven by a desire to help people age in their own homes and to “give them a benefit that’s flexible, that meets their needs.”

Critics say the benefit is too modest to make a real dent in long-term care costs. In 2024, the advocacy group Let’s Go Washington and Republicans failed to convince voters to allow workers to opt out of WA Cares. House Republicans argued the benefit was inadequate and “may give someone a false sense of security about future long-term care needs.”

Statewide, the monthly median cost for assisted living is $7,600 and about $13,000 for a nursing home, according to a 2025 Cost of Care Survey by CareScout.

Advocates say covering all of those costs is not the intention.

“It’s not a lot,” says W4A State Director Cathy Knight of the benefit. “But for a lot of people, it’s just what they need to get them through a crisis or to get them ready for the tougher decisions they’re going to have to make.”

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Tapping into WA CARES

Who is participating: All full- and part-time workers. Self-employed people must choose to opt in. Federal employees do not contribute.

Who may be exempt: Workers who live outside of Washington; active-duty service members with an off-duty civilian job; spouses or registered domestic partners of an active-duty service member; veterans with a 70 percent or higher service-connected disability rating.

Benefit eligibility: Must demonstrate help is needed with three or more activities of daily living, such as bathing, dressing, eating and medication management.

What the benefit will pay for: Services such as an in-home care provider or paying a family caregiver; care in a facility; transportation; meal delivery; and making a home more accessible.

Find out how to apply at wacaresfund.wa.gov./apply

More AARP Caregiving Resources

Julie Rasicot is a Montgomery County, Maryland–based writer and editor who regularly contributes stories on advocacy, community livability, long-term care and other issues affecting people as they age.