Why WA Cares Is Creating an Entirely New Category of Employee Benefits

How supplemental long-term care coverage is becoming the next evolution of voluntary benefits in Washington

When Washington State enacted the WA Cares Fund, much of the public discussion centered on the payroll tax. Employers debated implementation, employees questioned deductions from their paychecks, and the insurance industry responded to an unprecedented surge in demand for private long-term care insurance before the program took effect.

Those early conversations missed the bigger story.

WA Cares did more than create America’s first publicly funded long-term care insurance program. It changed the marketplace for long-term care planning. It did so by creating something that never existed before—a broad foundation upon which a new generation of private supplemental long-term care products could be built.

For employers, HR leaders, and employee benefits advisors, this represents a pivotal moment. Washington is no longer simply implementing a public benefit. It is demonstrating how public and private long-term care solutions can work together through the workplace.

The implications extend beyond Washington’s borders.

Long-Term Care Has Always Been a Difficult Employee Benefits Conversation

For decades, long-term care has been one of the most difficult conversations in employee benefits.

Unlike health insurance, retirement plans, or disability coverage, long-term care addresses a life event that most people prefer not to think about. The need can seem distant, the costs difficult to estimate, and many employees assume that Medicare or personal savings will somehow be enough.

Unfortunately, the numbers tell a different story.

Approximately 70% of Americans who reach age 65 will require some form of long-term care during their lifetime. Whether that care is provided in the home, through assisted living, adult family homes, memory care, or skilled nursing, the financial impact can be significant. Annual costs frequently reach tens of thousands of dollars and, in many cases, extend over multiple years.

Despite these realities, private long-term care insurance has historically remained a niche product.

Premiums were often perceived as expensive. Underwriting requirements could be rigorous. Even employers who recognized the importance of long-term care often found it difficult to generate meaningful employee participation during open enrollment.

In short, there was little awareness and even less urgency.

WA Cares changed that dynamic.

WA Cares Put Long-Term Care on the Workplace Agenda

For the first time, nearly every participating employee in Washington contributes toward long-term care protection through payroll deductions.

Whether employees supported or opposed the program, it introduced long-term care into everyday workplace conversations. HR departments received questions. Benefits advisors developed educational materials. Employees began asking what the benefit would provide.

That awareness may ultimately become WA Cares’ greatest achievement.

The conversation has shifted from “Do I need long-term care planning?” to “What does my benefit cover?”

That’s a profound distinction.

As employees explore the program, they learn how WA Cares was designed as a foundational benefit—not comprehensive long-term care insurance. Eligible participants can access a lifetime benefit, currently valued at approximately $36,500 and indexed for inflation, to help pay for qualified long-term care services.

That benefit may provide meaningful assistance during an otherwise difficult period, but few would argue it fully reflects today’s cost of care.

The Coverage Gap Creates an Opportunity for Supplemental Protection

Home care services can easily run thousands of dollars per month. Assisted living communities often require substantial monthly payments, while skilled nursing facilities can cost well into six figures annually. Even moderate care needs may consume the WA Cares lifetime benefit relatively quickly.

This is not a flaw in the program.

It is an acknowledgment that no public program can realistically provide unlimited protection against one of healthcare’s most expensive risks. Instead, WA Cares establishes something equally valuable: a baseline.

Historically, private long-term care insurance attempted to solve the entire financial challenge. Policies were designed to stand alone, often providing substantial benefit periods and correspondingly higher premiums. Consumers faced an all-or-nothing decision: purchase comprehensive coverage or rely largely on personal assets.

WA Cares introduces a different model.

Instead of asking private carriers to insure the entire risk, insurers can now develop products specifically designed to complement an existing public benefit.

The future lies in thoughtful integration.

A New Category of Voluntary Employee Benefits Is Emerging

That integration is giving rise to what may become a new voluntary employee benefit category.

Unlike traditional long-term care insurance, supplemental products begin with a different assumption: eligible employees already possess a baseline benefit through WA Cares.

This allows insurers to rethink product design.

Instead of providing comprehensive first-dollar coverage, supplemental policies can focus on extending benefit duration or enhancing financial protection once WA Cares benefits have been exhausted.

As a result, they may offer lower premiums, simpler underwriting, and easier enrollment compared with many legacy products.

For employers, the advantages may be even more compelling.

Why This Matters to Employers and HR Leaders

Today’s workforce increasingly expects employers to support broader financial wellness objectives, including retirement readiness, caregiving responsibilities, and protection against catastrophic expenses.

Long-term care intersects with each of those priorities.

Caregiving has already become one of the fastest-growing workforce challenges facing employers. Millions of Americans balance full-time employment while caring for aging parents, spouses, or other family members. Those responsibilities can translate into increased absenteeism, reduced productivity, delayed retirement, and significant emotional stress.

Financial preparedness cannot eliminate caregiving responsibilities, but it can substantially improve the options available when care becomes necessary.

Supplemental long-term care benefits therefore represent more than another insurance product.

They can become part of an employer’s broader financial wellness strategy, offering them an opportunity to differentiate while helping employees prepare for one of life’s largest potential expenses.

A Natural Fit for the Voluntary Benefits Model

Because WA Cares establishes a common foundation across Washington’s workforce, employers have an opportunity to build upon a benefit employees already recognize.

In many cases, these programs can be voluntarily funded through payroll deductions, minimizing direct employer expense while expanding the organization’s overall benefits portfolio.

Markets like this do not emerge often.

The introduction of the 401(k) transformed retirement planning. Health Savings Accounts reshaped consumer-directed healthcare. Student loan repayment benefits responded to changing workforce demographics.

Washington’s supplemental long-term care marketplace has the potential to represent another such inflection point.

Why the Timing Matters

It is still early.

Product designs continue to evolve. Employers are evaluating implementation strategies. Advisors are learning how best to communicate these solutions. Employees are just beginning to understand what WA Cares means for their long-term financial planning.

That makes education more important than ever.

Education builds confidence. Confidence drives adoption.

Adoption ultimately determines whether Washington’s experiment in public-private long-term care financing fulfills its promise.

Washington Could Become a Model for Other States

Policymakers across the country are watching closely.

States continue to grapple with rising long-term care costs, aging populations, and increasing pressure on Medicaid programs.

Whether other states ultimately adopt programs similar to WA Cares remains uncertain, but the underlying challenges are universal.

If Washington demonstrates that a public baseline benefit can successfully coexist with private supplemental coverage delivered through the workplace, it may provide a national blueprint.

For HR professionals, benefits advisors, and employers, that possibility makes today’s decisions especially significant.

Organizations that begin learning about supplemental long-term care now are preparing for what could become the next evolution of employee benefits.

The Opportunity for Employers and Benefits Advisors

Like any emerging market, the greatest opportunities belong to those who recognize the shift before it becomes obvious to everyone else.

Washington has started that shift.

The question is how employers will respond.

For HR leaders, that may mean beginning with education: understanding the program, evaluating the needs of their workforce, and determining whether supplemental coverage deserves a place within their voluntary benefits strategy.

For benefits advisors, it may mean becoming an educator and guide as employers navigate a product category that is still taking shape.

And for employees, it means recognizing that WA Cares provides an important foundation—but that personal financial circumstances may warrant additional protection.

The emerging supplemental market doesn’t diminish the value of WA Cares.

It demonstrates its potential.

By establishing a baseline benefit and creating broad awareness of long-term care, Washington has opened the door to a new model of employee financial protection—one in which public and private benefits work together rather than existing in isolation.

That may ultimately prove to be WA Cares’ most important legacy.

WA Cares Supplement Insight

The introduction of WA Cares has fundamentally changed the conversation around long-term care. For the first time, employers have a workforce that is already aware of long-term care planning and participating in a baseline program. That creates a unique opportunity to educate employees about how supplemental long-term care coverage can strengthen their overall financial preparedness.

Organizations that begin those conversations early will be better positioned to evaluate emerging products, support employee financial wellness, and differentiate their benefits strategy as this market continues to evolve.