State Dems Approve ‘Delay’ for Troubled Long Term Care Plan

House Democrats used their majority in Olympia (actually, virtually because the session is remote again due to COVID-Delta-Omicron) to shoot down a Republican proposal to scrap the troubled long-term care insurance plan and replace it with a new one.

18-MONTH DELAY PASSES INSTEAD OF REPEAL

John Sattgast, the GOP House Communications Coordinator, said Democrats rejected 2 Republican proposals that would have repealed the troubled plan and then replaced it, but both were rejected. Neither was even allowed to be voted on.

Instead, the CARES Fund Act will be delayed 18 months, and collections for the plan from employers will be pushed out to July 2023.  It's our understanding that businesses had the option to wait and see what happened in the legislature as to whether they would take the money from their workers.

 EVEN DEMOCRATS ADMITTED THE PLAN NEEDED MAJOR REWORKING

Republicans wanted to repeal and replace the troubled bill, which they say is already facing shortfalls, or insolvent.  So many citizens opted out of the mandatory long care insurance tax by obtaining their own plans that there are already fears it will be under-funded.

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According to information we received from the Employment Security Department, people who have already obtained their own plans are NOT entitled to any kind of refund, at least on the state end.  It's kind of a murky situation. With the state delaying collection of the funds,  people who purchased their own long-term care are advised to consult with their provider as to what their options are.

According to Sattgast, one of the two Democratic bills that passed would create four new voluntary exemptions from the program. What those four are is not yet known.