skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Friday, March 29, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The latest on the Key Bridge collapse, New York puts forth legislation to get clean energy projects on the grid and Wisconsin and other states join a federal summer food program to help feed kids across the country.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Republicans float conspiracy theories on the collapse of Baltimore's Key Bridge, South Carolina's congressional elections will use a map ruled unconstitutional, and the Senate schedules an impeachment trial for Homeland Secretary Mayorkas.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

WA Lawmakers Consider Funding Long-Term Care

play audio
Play

Thursday, January 25, 2018   

OLYMPIA, Wash. — With Washingtonians aging rapidly, how will the state provide long-term care? Many groups believe the bipartisan legislation known as the Long-Term Care Trust Act is one solution.

The novel program would provide long-term care insurance through a payroll deduction of about 0.5 percent. Those funds would then be able to fully cover the average cost for in-home care for one year.

Sarita Gupta, co-director of the group Caring Across Generations, said this legislation would be especially helpful for Washington's 830,000 family caregivers taking care of their Baby Boomer parents.

"They're living much longer than ever before - about 20 years longer than when our safety net was put into place,” Gupta said. “So, we need more supports around elder care, and a lot of the financial burden is actually falling on families."

Gupta said it's important to note that Medicare does not cover long-term care.

On Wednesday, the House Committee on Health Care and Wellness held a public hearing on House Bill 2533. Today, the Senate Committee on Health and Long Term Care is holding a public hearing on its companion bill.

University of Hawaii political science professor Lawrence Nitz is in Olympia supporting the bills. Last year, Hawaii passed similar legislation to provide funds for working caregivers.

Nitz said this type of legislation is crucial, not only to keep down health care costs for state budgets, but also because it allows family caregivers to keep working.

"Every time we have someone leave the labor force unnecessarily, when a little bit of money could have kept them there, this is a loss to the economy,” Nitz said. “We lose their whole wage, and that adds up very quickly."

Nitz said long-term care insurance from the private sector typically benefits the wealthy because they are the only ones able to afford it over a long period of time.

Gupta said if the country doesn't seize the opportunity to get ahead of this issue and build a long-term care infrastructure, many families could be heading toward a financial cliff.

"We'll have millions of families who will be struggling and juggling to meet their care needs, and many who will fall through the cracks,” Gupta said. “And so, the urgency is now, the opportunity is now before it reaches that level of crisis."

The legislation is receiving support from a broad range of groups, including the state chapter of the Alzheimer's Association, Casa Latina and the caregivers' union SEIU 775.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments this week about the popular abortion pill Mifepristone and will weigh in on whether the U.S. Food and Drug Administration was correct in how it can be dosed and prescribed. (Ascannio/Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Missouri residents are worried about future access to birth control. The latest survey from The Right Time, an initiative based in Missouri…


Social Issues

play sound

Wisconsin children from low-income families are now on track to get nutritious foods over the summer. Federal officials have approved the Badger …

Social Issues

play sound

Almost 2,900 people are unsheltered on any given night in the Beehive State. Gov. Spencer Cox is celebrating signing nine bills he says are geared …


The U.S. teaching workforce remains primarily white while the percentage of Black teachers has declined. However, the percentage of Asian and Latinx teachers is rising.(WavebreakMediaMicro/Adobestock)

Social Issues

play sound

Education advocates are calling on lawmakers to increase funding for programs to combat the teacher shortage. Around 37% of schools nationwide …

Environment

play sound

New York's Legislature is considering a bill to get clean-energy projects connected to the grid faster. It's called the RAPID Act, for "Renewable …

Many factors affect a customer's bill amount, including energy usage, weather, and the number of days in a billing period, according to Arizona Public Service. (Jason Yoder/Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…

Social Issues

play sound

A mix of policy updates and staffing boosts has helped to put wage theft enforcement on the radar in Minnesota, and officials leading the efforts are …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021