Frequently Asked Questions

Whether you participate in WA Cares depends on whether your work is localized in Washington state. WA Cares uses the same localization definitions as the state’s Paid Family and Medical Leave program (found in RCW 50A.05.010). If you are included in Paid Leave, you will also be included in WA Cares unless you have an approved exemption. 

While WA Cares benefits can be used to pay for care in a residential setting like assisted living, they are primarily designed to cover services and supports to help you age in place. This could include services like: 

• Hiring a home care aide as your primary caregiver or as respite so your unpaid family caregiver can take a break
• Paying a qualified family member (including a spouse) to provide care and getting them training they need to feel supported
• Making home modifications so you can get around better or purchasing a home safety evaluation so you can prevent avoidable falls
• Having meals delivered to your door
• Getting transportation to appointments and errands like grocery shopping
• Purchasing equipment, assistive devices or medication reminder devices

These are just some of the services WA Cares will offer. Others include dementia supports, memory care, care transitions, personal emergency response systems and more. Learn more about benefits covered by WA Cares.

Only people who are working contribute to WA Cares. Some people who are retired from their career still work part-time, either as an employee or on a self-employed basis. If you are working at least 500 hours per year (about 10 hours per week) as an employee, you will be contributing and earning WA Cares benefits. 

If you are self-employed, you can choose to opt in to WA Cares and earn benefits. If you are already retired and no longer work at all, you won’t be able to earn WA Cares benefits, but may be able to access other long-term care services. To learn more about services in your area, reach out to your local Area Agency on Aging.

Part-time workers contribute to WA Cares. You only need to contribute 500 hours per year to earn a qualifying year for meeting contribution requirements, which is about 10 hours per week. 

Workers contribute to WA Cares regardless of age. Like all working Washingtonians, each year workers under 18 work at least 500 hours will earn them a qualifying year. 

Once they turn 18, they can use benefits when they need them if they’ve met contribution requirements. 

WA Cares is a social insurance program like Social Security, not a savings account. Everyone who meets contribution requirements and has a care need gets access to the same lifetime benefit amount (starts at $36,500 and will grow over time with inflation). The only exception is near-retirees born before 1968, who earn pro-rated benefits for each year they contribute.

The WA Cares Fund has been working with the Office of the Insurance Commissioner on the development of the supplemental private long-term care insurance market. Rules regarding the supplemental private long-term care insurance market will become effective on May 1, 2026. Insurers may begin issuing approved policies after May 1, 2026. As more information becomes available, WA Cares will update the website and send a notification to the WA Cares mailing list.

By law, the premium rate cannot exceed 0.58%. The legislature would need to change the law to increase the premium rate. However, actuarial analysis completed in 2024 showed that under most scenarios, the WA Cares Fund is projected to be fully solvent through 2099 (the full period evaluated in the report) at the current premium rate. 

Typically, these are your gross wages. The Employment Security Department is using the same wage definition as they do for Paid Family and Medical Leave. However, unlike Paid Leave, the income to which WA Cares premiums are applied is not capped at the taxable maximum for Social Security. 

You can find more detail in WAC 192-510-025 and employers can use the Employment Security Department’s premiums estimator to calculate premium amounts for both WA Cares and Paid Leave. 

According to a 2024 study completed by Milliman, an independent actuarial firm, the WA Cares Fund is projected to be fully solvent through 2099 (the full period evaluated in the study) under most evaluated scenarios. 

While the current analysis shows the program is on solid financial ground, actual results may vary from these projections. Fortunately, there are processes in place to identify any risks to the program’s finances promptly, giving the Long-Term Services and Supports Trust Commission and the legislature plenty of time to adjust the program as needed to stay on course. 

Learn more about solvency.

We can’t advise if the premiums paid are deductible on federal tax returns. If you contact your tax specialist or the Internal Revenue Service, they may be able to give you more information.

To evaluate your care needs, we must determine whether you need help with three or more activities of daily living and will continue to need help for at least 90 days. The activities we assess are bathing, bed mobility, transferring (getting in or out of a chair) toileting, mobility (walking or moving around), eating and managing medications. This may be based on self-report and could be verified by a health professional.

We will count any activities that you need supervision (like monitoring, cueing or set-up assistance) to complete. 

Since the WA Cares Fund is self-funded by worker contributions, benefits can only be earned by people who have paid in as workers for a number of years. You may be able to access other long-term care services and can reach out to your local Area Agency on Aging.

WA Cares is designed to help you age in place as long as possible, which most people with long-term care needs can do with the right support. A few hours of help each day with basic tasks like bathing, managing medication and transportation can keep you living independently. 

While the benefit won’t cover 100% of care for everyone, it could cover around 20 hours per week of home care for about a year. This is the amount of in-home care the average Medicaid client receives right now. 

About a third of people need care for a year or less, and for those people WA Cares may be able to cover all the care they need. For others, WA Cares provides families with immediate relief and time to plan for future care costs. 

Starting in July 2026, Washington workers can choose to continue participating in the WA Cares Fund if they move out of state. This includes self-employed workers who have opted in to the program. To become an out-of-state participant, workers must have contributed to WA Cares for at least three years (in which they worked at least 500 hours per year) and must opt in within a year of leaving Washington. 

Like other workers, out-of-state participants will keep contributing to the fund during their working years. The Employment Security Department will create a process for out-of-state participants to report their earnings and pay premiums, with a focus on making it easy for participants.

Benefits will be available to out-of-state participants who meet contribution requirements and need care starting in July 2030. 

In a previous version of the law, there was a $100 per day cap (“benefit unit”) on the usage of WA Cares benefits. The law was changed to allow beneficiaries to use as many benefit units in a day as they would like, so there is no dollar limit on daily benefit usage. 

WA Cares Fund is a flexible benefit you can use to meet your care needs up to $36,500 (grows over time with inflation) with no daily cap on benefit usage. 

The benefit amount will grow over time with inflation. Even after you retire and stop contributing, your benefit amount will continue to grow. The benefit amount will be adjusted annually by the consumer price index for the Seattle, WA area. Each adjustment will take effect on Jan. 1 the following year. 

WA Cares works like an insurance program, not a savings account. By all of us pooling a small amount of our paychecks into one fund throughout our careers, the program can provide access to long-term care for the people who need it. There is no option to cash out the contributions you’ve made if you do not use benefits.

WA Cares benefits are not subject to estate recovery (the requirement that state Medicaid programs recover certain Medicaid benefits paid on behalf of a Medicaid enrollee from their estate).

The WA Cares Fund is a universal long-term care program that works like Social Security, where all workers participate and earn coverage over the course of their careers.  This program does not have underwriting and is fully funded by pooling worker’s wages and investing them with the State of Washington for WA Cares Fund beneficiaries to use when they need long-term care.

WA Cares is a social insurance program, not a savings account. By all of us pooling a small amount of our paycheck into one fund throughout our careers, the program can provide access to long-term care for the people who need it. Everyone who meets contribution requirements and has a care need gets access to the same lifetime benefit amount (starts at $36,500 and will grow over time with inflation). The only exception is near-retirees born before 1968, who earn pro-rated benefits for each year they contribute.

The lifetime benefit amount is only available to beneficiaries who have contributed to the fund. It cannot be transferred to another family member or used to pay for a loved one's care. By all of us pooling a small amount of our paychecks into one fund throughout our careers, the program can remain affordable and cover more people in the long term. If WA Cares benefits were transferrable to a spouse or family member, the premium would need to be much higher. 

If you have earned WA Cares benefits, your loved one can become a paid caregiver, even if you're caring for your own spouse or registered domestic partner. They can be employed through a home care agency or through Consumer Direct Care Network Washington as an individual provider. 

Employers began withholding premiums July 1, 2023.

Unlike Paid Family and Medical Leave, premium contributions do not top out at the taxable maximum for Social Security.

It is the employee’s responsibility to notify and give you a copy of their approval letter from ESD, which contains the date their exemption goes into effect. Once you are provided the letter and the effective date has passed, you must stop withholding premiums. Employers must return incorrectly withheld premiums to the employee.

What is the refund process if an employer overpays WA Cares premiums? If the employer does not owe outstanding WA Cares premiums, refunds are available for overpayments of more than fifty dollars upon request.

Refunds will not be processed for overpayments of less than fifty dollars unless

• The employer does not owe outstanding WA Cares premiums

and

• The business is closed, or
• The business does not anticipate future payroll

If the employer does not request a refund, overpayments of any amount will be credited toward future payments due.

Beginning with your Quarter 3 2023 report, there are new file specifications (v8) that incorporate all that is required for WA Cares. Visit the Paid Family and Medical Leave website for the most up to date information.

Applications opened on Oct. 1, 2025. 

Providers must meet minimum qualifications and execute a WA Cares contract with the Department of Social and Health Services or an Area Agency on Aging to become a registered provider, provide services and be assigned a registration number.  

Learn more about how to apply. 

The entire registration process could take up to 90 days to complete. To be contracted, interested providers must complete an online application and a background check authorization; pass minimum qualification review, background check review, and risk assessment; and return a signed contract.   

Timeframes can vary based on completeness of applications, timeliness of returning signed documents and volume of applications at the time of submission. Applications are reviewed in the order they are received.  

Please check your email regularly to avoid delays in processing your application. You must submit any additional information requested by the Department of Social and Health Services or an Area Agency on Aging within 30 calendar days of the first request for information.  

All registered providers can begin serving beneficiaries on July 1, 2026. Providers participating in the pilot in Lewis, Mason, Spokane and Thurston counties can begin serving beneficiaries on Jan. 6, 2026. 

An application is the first step of the process. All applications will be submitted online. Before you apply, you should make sure you meet minimum qualifications to provide a covered service.  

Once your application is approved, you will begin contracting. Depending on the service and location, the Department of Social and Health Services or an Area Agency on Aging may be responsible for processing your application and contracting with you, including ongoing monitoring.  

After contracting is complete, you will be a registered provider and can begin creating pre-authorizations and serving beneficiaries.
 

You can apply directly through Consumer Direct Care Network of Washington. 

You are required to have a contract with the Department of Social and Health Services or an Area Agency on Aging and are registered by the state before providing paid services to beneficiaries.   

You must have a valid contract to be a registered provider. If your contract is terminated or ends, your registration will also end.  

Your registration number is listed on your registration confirmation notice. If you require additional assistance, please contact the WA Cares team.  

To learn more about the ProviderOne system, including how to set up your account, enrollment, pre-authorizations, claims, checking a beneficiary’s balance, and payments, you can refer to the training and education materials. WA Cares-specific information will be available in 2026. 

For additional assistance, you may contact the Medical Assistance Customer Service Center. For the quickest resolution, complete the secure contact form.  

You can also call 800-562-3022 Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Long-term care insurance benefits help pay for services needed by people who cannot perform everyday tasks themselves. 

Disability insurance benefits cover part of a worker’s income when they have an illness or injury and need to take time off from work because they’re unable to do their job. Disability insurance can be short-term or long-term, depending on the length of time it is intended to provide benefits.

Many employees have access to disability insurance through their employer. Washington workers also have access to Paid Family and Medical Leave to get paid time off if they have a serious health condition that prevents them from working, need time off to care for a family member or welcome a new child, or for certain military-related events.

WA Cares benefits are not considered income or resources for eligibility determinations for other state programs or benefits. 

You can use WA Cares in combination with private long-term care insurance. WA Cares is also working with the insurance industry to develop a market for supplemental private long-term care insurance policies. These policies would allow people who want more coverage to use their WA Cares benefit as the deductible for their private policy. The WA Cares oversight body, the LTSS Trust Commission, made recommendations to the legislature in its January 2023 report about creating a market for supplemental private insurance. As more information becomes available, WA Cares will update the website and send a notification to the WA Cares mailing list.