Long-Term Care Costs Are Prohibitively Expensive. States Are Taking Notice.

Long-term care insurance is not affordable for most Americans, 90 percent of whom do not have such coverage, reports Governing . But without it, older adults can go bankrupt paying for assisted living care. Washington state has created a public long-term care insurance plan to be funded through payroll taxes. The plan will pay lifetime benefits of up to $36,500 to help people pay for assisted living care. However, the state will not begin making payroll deductions until 2022, and benefits will not kick in until 2025. Hawaii began providing in 2017 up to $70 a day to residents who work while also taking care of senior family members at home. Another Hawaii program provides services to older adults in need of help with daily activities. At the federal level, U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) has proposed a Medicare long-term care benefit regardless of income.