It’s always good to see long-term care luminary Larry Minnix, in person or in the news. He popped up most recently as a new inductee for the CCRC Hall of Fame, a natural fit if there ever was one.
He also came to mind a couple weeks earlier, when I read with interest about the rocky start of Washington state’s new long-term care payroll tax and insurance program. It’s a valiant attempt to infuse long-term care with money directly from citizens, who can then put it to work for themselves when they need future care.
Sounds a lot like the CLASS Act that Minnix pressed so urgently for while he was president and CEO of LeadingAge. Others also championed the cause, but the Community Living Assistance Services and Supports Act was his baby. The usually more dominant long-term care association in the field silently allowed him to face the buzzsaw of naysayers on his own. The Georgian gentleman collared every politician and bureaucrat he could find to implore that the act get passed and then implemented as part of the Affordable Care Act.
It took a while, but he achieved the former, while the latter never came. Eventually, the entire thing was repealed in 2013. Perhaps luckily so, for Minnix likely would have been pulling out most of his full head of gray hair by now if it hadn’t.
In Washington state, there are activists on all sides of the issue, though negative ones seem to be making the most news. Conscientious objectors, belligerent opponents and residents who simply don’t know if they’ll remain in the state in retirement, yet alone for the 10-year vesting period, are tied in knots over what to do.
Washington workers have until Nov. 1 to opt out of the state’s long-term care program. Tens of thousands are trying to do just that. Success would mean not having to pay a 0.58% payroll tax starting in January.
If they opt out, however, they must show proof of other long-term care coverage, which has overwhelmed those offering private plans, causing them to block new applicants. As a result, some lawmakers have suggested the Legislature might need to be called back into session to find fixes before its scheduled January resumption.
The state is a test tube for what would have happened on a grander scale if the federal act had been put in place. That’s not to strike up a dirge for all such plans. Other countries support a publicly funded long-term care benefit (Germany, to name one). But the United States, as we know from many examples — COVID-19 vaccinations not being the least of them — is not like other places.
When you get the beauty of the American melting pot, you also might feel an extra dose of heat and flames. In the 21st century, there seems to be open season — a scorched-earth strategy — for any rule or issue one might not already heartily agree with.
Knowing Minnix, the ordained minister in him might have actually relished the idea of standing up to a barrage and trying to create converts. But he also would have deserved better than the food fight that would have ensued.
Follow Executive Editor James M. Berklan @JimBerklan.
Opinions expressed in McKnight’s Long-Term Care News columns are not necessarily those of McKnight’s.
