More than a million near-retirees in Washington will now be covered by WA Cares

Over a million “near-retirees”, throughout Washington, will now be covered by the state’s “WA [‘wah’] Cares”-program—thanks to the passage of a bill in this year’s just-concluded legislative-session. The program—which is funded by payroll-contributions—will help Washingtonians pay for long-term-care services at home, and in other settings. Cathy MacCaul [like “McCall”/“McColl”] is the advocacy-director for “A-A-R-P Washington”—which supported the bill… “‘A-A-R-P’ urged lawmakers to strengthen ‘WA Cares’, by making it available to ‘near-retirees’—and they listened. Now, a million more Washingtonians will have help paying for long-term-care services [that] they need, to remain at home. This might be help with bathing and dressing, or meal-preparation; home-modifications, like a ramp; or paying for a family-caregiver, for assistance—and so much more.” The Legislature paused “WA Cares” earlier this year, to strengthen the program; it will now launch in July 2023. To learn more, visit “wa-cares-fund”-dot-“w-a”-dot-gov.