Bainbridge: Washingtonians should say no to I-2124

In a letter to editor of the Bainbridge Island Review, Cathy Knight writes:

As the state Director of the Washington Association of Area Agencies on Aging, it’s my responsibility to advocate for older adults and people with disabilities. Initiative 2124, which would essentially bankrupt Washington’s new long-term care insurance program, would threaten a support system designed to help the people I’ve dedicated my career to serving.

We need the WA Cares Fund because health insurance and Medicare do not pay for long-term care, which includes assistance with bathing, dressing, eating and other daily activities of living.

I-2124 will limit options. Before the WA Cares Fund, people could only buy private long-term care insurance, if they were lucky enough to find it and afford it, or were uncovered and at risk for financial disaster if they needed long-term care to stay at home.

What concerns me most is the effect this initiative will have on women, who are most often the ones to leave their jobs to become caregivers when a family member falls ill.

Protect current workers who will need long-term care in the future. Protect their caregivers. Let’s be the state where we all age with grace!