Olympia and Tumwater workers who have been paying into Washington's WA Cares Fund are eligible to apply for long-term care benefits worth up to $36,500.
The program began paying benefits statewide on July 1, making Washington the first state to offer public long-term care insurance. Thurston County residents got a head start: the county was one of four chosen for a pilot program that accepted applications from Jan. 6 through March 31.
About 3.7 million Washington workers paid into the fund in the year before the launch, contributing 0.58% of their gross wages through payroll deductions, according to KFF Health News. A worker earning $50,000 a year pays roughly $291 annually.
Employers do not contribute.
Who qualifies
Applicants must meet both a contribution requirement and a care needs requirement, according to the WA Cares Fund website.
Three pathways satisfy the contribution side in 2026. Workers who contributed for at least 10 years at any point qualify for the full $36,500 benefit. A temporary pathway covers those who contributed for at least three of the past six years. Workers born before Jan. 1, 1968, qualify through a transition pathway after contributing for at least one year, earning 10% of the full benefit for each year of contributions. Each qualifying year requires at least 500 hours of work.
For the care needs requirement, a WA Cares team member meets with the applicant to assess whether they need help with three or more activities of daily living for at least 90 days. Those activities include bathing, eating, toileting, mobility, bed mobility, transferring and managing medications.
What the benefit covers
The $36,500 is a lifetime total that grows with inflation each year. According to the program's benefits page, for about a third of people that amount could cover all the care they need.
Covered services include in-home personal care, home-delivered meals, assisted living, memory care and nursing home care. The benefit also pays for home modifications, adaptive equipment, transportation and respite for family caregivers. Beneficiaries can use the benefit to pay a family member, including a spouse, to serve as their caregiver.
WA Cares pays providers directly. Beneficiaries never submit a claim.
How to apply
Residents can apply online at wacaresfund.wa.gov/apply or call 844-CARE4WA. Language assistance is available. In Thurston County, the Lewis-Mason-Thurston Area Agency on Aging offers in-person help at 360-664-2168 (option 2).
"Long-term care is one of those conversations around every dinner table," Bea Rector, assistant secretary at the Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS), told KFF Health News in July 2026. "Families step in. Sometimes they can continue providing care, but sometimes more formal care has to be put in place."
Key details for exempt workers
Workers who obtained a private long-term care insurance exemption before the Dec. 31, 2022, deadline cannot qualify for WA Cares benefits, even if they contributed before their exemption took effect. Legislation signed in May 2025 gave previously exempt employees a one-time window to rejoin the program voluntarily through June 30, 2028, according to KFF Health News.
Workers who leave Washington can continue coverage if they contributed for at least three qualifying years and opt in within one year of leaving. Out-of-state benefits become available starting July 2030.
A Sept. 30 TVW panel discussion featuring Rector and JR Richards, director of insurance services at the Employment Security Department, examined how the rollout compares to earlier state safety-net programs. The program accepts applications statewide on a rolling basis with no announced deadline.
