Voters Reject I-2124, Turn Down Long-Term Care Opt Out

I-2124 was one of the six Let's Go WA Initiatives that achieved enough signatures to be on the ballot. 2 of them were passed by the legislature, the other four made it to voters.

  I-2124 would have allowed workers to opt-out of mandatory Long-Term Care Act

WaCARES was first created and passed four years ago, but the payroll deductions did not begin until July of 2023.   It was delayed due to financial and logistical issues. It was the state's attempt to create a long-term care insurance program for citizens, but ran into opposition.

The maximum benefit is $36,500, and a worker must pay into it for at least ten years to potentially draw from it at retirement age. Unlike many private long-term car programs, users of WaCARES were very limited in their choice of medical providers.

I-2124 would have allowed voluntary opt-outs by workers, currently every worker in WA has to pay into it...mandatory.

It appears, much like I-2117, the massive opposition campaign, fueled by special interest groups who flooded TV with ads, may have worked.

They claimed (in error) that I-2124 would bankrupt the program, which it would not.  Had I-2124 passed, depending on the number of opt-outs, many experts said it would eventually render the program insolvent.

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The initiative failed by a margin of roughly 55-44 percent. The county map pattern is noticeably similar to that of I-2117, most of the same counties that voted down 2117 also defeated I-2124.   Observers say just like I-2117, I-2124 did not have a widespread ad campaign supporting it once it made the November ballot.