After an April 24 WA Cares webinar, I highlighted that a presenter said Washingtonians who received exemptions from the WA Cares program and payroll tax because they attested to having private long-term-care insurance (LTCI) needed to maintain their plans. Today, Carleen Johnson, a reporter with The Center Square, alerted me to the following note on the YouTube recording of the webinar.

"During the Q&A, our presenter misunderstood a question about whether someone who already has a private long-term care insurance exemption needs to maintain their private policy. If you already have an approved exemption, it’s up to you to decide whether to maintain or cancel your private long-term care policy. You should speak with your broker or the agent who sold you the policy about options."

Stay tuned. I am seeking more clarification. Despite this note going along with the webinar recording, an oversight commission has discussed requiring reattestation. Also, a piece of legislation in 2023 would have prohibited requiring reattestation. It did not pass.  

Update: The above advice from the Employment Security Department is the advice that holds from the agency. "If you already have an approved exemption, it’s up to you to decide whether to maintain or cancel your private long-term care policy. You should speak with your broker or the agent who sold you the policy about options."

While that advice is being given, I have asked others if it's wise. The law can be tweaked by lawmakers and already has been several times, and reattestation of having private LTCI has been discussed as a possible future change. I worry people opting out of private LTCI might later be forced to pay the payroll tax for WA Cares but still never be eligible for a WA Cares benefit.