Washington is the first state in the U.S. to pass a bill that creates a long-term care insurance program for workers. The “Long Term Care Trust Act” will use payroll tax to help residents pay for up to $36,500 worth of caregiving, wheelchair ramps or other nursing home fees.

The hope is that WA will become the model for this type of bill so the LTCI program for workers will spread to more states to help pay for the growing expense of long-term care. The predicted savings to the state is expected to be $3.9 billion by 2052. Each worker will fund their long-term care by setting aside, on average, $18 a month.

The need for long-term care insurance is there as, across the country, there has been a decline in how many insurance companies offer a standalone long-term care insurance policy. In less than 15 years, the number of insurance companies offering this kind of policy dropped from 125 to less than 15. For the rare companies that did offer some type of long-term care savings opportunity, most employees did not take advantage. Researches believe that for younger employees, paying for long-term care that is still decades off, is not as applicable or important in the short term.