Helping You Cover Your Tomorrows

The WA Cares Fund ensures all working Washingtonians can earn access to long-term care when they need it.

Learn how the fund works

Explore benefit coverage

Resources for family caregivers

About the WA Cares Fund

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7 in 10 of us will need long-term care

Most of us will need help to live independently at some point in our lives. For some, this will be temporary after an accident or illness. For others, the need will strike late in life. In both cases, this is known as long-term care. Learn more about what long-term care is and how to plan for it.

KD is grateful to have her mother-in-law living in her home but says care-related expenses can take a toll.

The last thing you want people thinking about in their golden years is money. WA Cares is a really unique program – to know that as you get older, you’re still cared for and you’re still valuable.

If KD’s mother-in-law had WA Cares, she could use her benefit for:

Paid family caregiver

Home safety evaluation

Care respite services

At 30, Dani experienced a complication during a routine medical procedure that left her with a spinal cord injury.

I’d never really seen anyone my age need long-term care until it happened to me. Life happens to all of us. At any point in time, you could experience a serious illness or an injury or a traumatic event.

If Dani had WA Cares, she could use her benefit for:

In-home care

Wheelchair

Transportation

Sisters Sun-Hee and Yunhee stepped back from their nursing careers to provide daily care for their mom.

We want her to be safe, happy and content. But we haven’t been working during this time, so we have zero income. A resource like WA Cares would be so helpful in easing that financial aspect.

If Sun-Hee & Yunhee’s mom had WA Cares, she could use her benefit for:

Paid family caregiver

Meal preparation

Medication reminder device

See more care stories

How WA Cares Can Help

WA Cares Fund gives you flexibility to choose whatever combination of covered services and supports best meets your care needs. Most people will choose benefits that enable them to remain in their own home. Learn more about benefit coverage.

Address the need

7 in 10 Washingtonians will need care services and support as they age, but long-term care is not only for older people. Some of us will have accidents or illnesses that require care at some point in our lives.

Support for families

Family caregivers who reduce hours or leave the workforce can lose income as well as health and retirement benefits. WA Cares gives families resources that can reduce the burden.

Keep your savings

Before WA Cares, in order to pay for long-term care, people had to spend down their life savings to qualify for Medicaid.

Peace of mind

By contributing a small amount from each paycheck while we're working, we can rest assured that long-term care benefits will be there to help us when we need them.

About the WA Cares Fund

WA Cares Fund is the result of years of research on how to make care accessible for all workers in Washington. Washington is the first state in the nation to create an affordable way for the broad middle class to access long-term care without having to spend down their life savings.

WA Cares Fund is managed by Washington State Department of Social and Health Services, in collaboration with Washington State Health Care Authority and the Employment Security Department.

Learn more about the history and structure of the WA Cares Fund.