Last week, hundreds of family caregivers, advocates and nurses across the state launched a campaign to defeat a Washington ballot initiative that would cut funding to long-term health care benefits.
If passed, Initiative 2124 would let Washington employees opt out of paying the payroll tax and receiving benefits under the WA Cares Fund, the state’s long-term health care program that was created in 2019. It is the first program of its kind in the country.
While proponents of I-2124 argue the WA Cares tax burdens state residents, Vancouver resident Christina Keys is among those who want the program to continue. She adds her voice to the campaign urging voters to reject the Nov. 5 ballot measure.
About 12 years ago, she quit her job to become a full-time caregiver for her mother who lost function after a stroke. Over the next 10 years, she maxed out credit cards, emptied her 401(k) and other savings, and worked multiple part-time jobs in order to afford daily care for her mother, Patricia Keys.
Patricia Keys died in December 2022. Two years after her mother’s death, Christina Keys is 55 years old and just starting to rebuild her life, she said.
“I did everything I was supposed to: I got a job, I chased the American dream, put money into my 401(k),” she said. “But when my mother had her stroke, I walked into that hospital as a career woman, and walked out as a family caregiver with no training.”
What is the tax?
The WA Cares Fund is a health care program that applies a 0.58 percent tax on workers’ paychecks, meaning an employee earning $50,000 a year would pay $290 per year toward the fund. Deductions from paychecks began July 1, 2023.
After meeting the care need and contribution requirement, workers will be able to access their benefits starting July 2026, according to the fund’s website.
The money can be used to pay for long-term care expenses, such as caretaking, equipment and meals for people who are older, injured or disabled. Workers can access their lifetime benefit of up to $36,500 once they’ve paid into the program for 10 years.
But experts of the private long-term care insurance industry and opponents of I-2124 say making the program voluntary would bankrupt it.
There are more than 820,000 family caregivers in Washington, according to the Washington State Department of Social and Health services. Although Christina Keys’ mother could not have used the benefit, she is hoping the program will be around when she needs care.
“I’m now 55, and after 10 years of being dedicated to her where the health care system failed us, I no longer have a savings or a 401(k),” Christina Keys said. “For someone like me, the Washington care benefits are crucial. If something happens to me, I’m going to need that money.”
Labor of love
Patricia Keys was 62 and living in Seattle at the time of her stroke in 2013. She worked as an aerospace engineer at Boeing and had just retired after 30 years. She had a nice savings account, a 401(k), supplemental insurance and Medicare, Christina Keys said.
On March 16, 2013, Patricia Keys was installing flooring in her home when she passed out and hit her head on the side of the couch, causing a stroke that left her paralyzed on one side of her body.
The stroke caused memory issues, a speech impairment, limited mobility and many other health issues, Christina Keys said.
“I didn’t know anything about caregiving. They let me wheel a paralyzed woman out of the hospital and all of a sudden I became a CNA, a nurse, a medical manager, a case manager, a physical therapist,” Christina Keys said. “Then, I had to figure out how to pay for all the things that insurance didn’t pay for.”
Medicare and supplemental insurance covered very little, Christina Keys said. Her mother needed adult briefs, special cleaning supplies, medications, a wheelchair, shower accommodations and more.
A year after Patricia Keys’ stroke, she and her daughter moved to Vancouver where the two purchased a house that was ADA accessible.
In 2017, Christina Keys officially quit her job working in tech where she was making six figures in order to support her mother full time.
Christina Keys spent thousands of dollars out-of-pocket on her mother’s care, digging into both of their 401(k)s and savings. Patricia Keys did not have life insurance, so her daughter paid for the funeral out-of-pocket, as well.
The financial turmoil of caregiving was just as taxing as the emotional toll, Christina Keys said. Over time, her own health began to decline from the stress of caregiving. She had high blood pressure, diabetes and depression.
“Caregiving put me in a place where I almost died. I almost lost my life. Those family caregivers, why should they be penalized because they stepped up and said ‘I love you’ to a family member?” Christina Keys said. “Washington is the only place that has something like this. If we were to let 2124 pass, it would be such a disservice to the families here in Washington.”
Who is behind I-2124?
Let’s Go Washington, led by state Rep. Jim Walsh, R-Aberdeen, and Republican donor Brian Heywood, sponsored six initiatives to the Legislature, including I-2124.
Last year, the group led the signature drive to get I-2124 on the ballot. In May, Leaders of Vancouver’s early-childhood programs gathered to publicly oppose I-2109, another initiative sponsored by Let’s Go Washington, that would repeal Washington’s capital gains tax.
Republicans see the long-term insurance tax as unfair and inadequate, and they question the program’s solvency. Let’s Go Washington Press Secretary Hallie Balch said the tax only is adding to the financial burden Washingtonians face.
“We are literally amplifying the voice of the people, and the people should have the opportunity to decide what health care, what long-term care, works for them,” Balch said. “I think we should allow people, you know, the authority to exercise their right to opt out of a program that doesn’t work for them.”
But Christina Keys said she doesn’t believe those supporting the initiative truly understand what even $36,500 would do for someone like her.
Through her experience caring for her mother, Christina Keys has developed a tight-knit community with other caregivers throughout Clark County. She said she wished she would have known about all the resources here when she started caring for her mom in 2013.
Christina Keys started her own nonprofit to support caregivers called Loving Them Forward, which has since dissolved. It was a resource for family caregivers, seniors and others who need help.
But Christina Keys has not stopped being an advocate for caregivers and families who need it.
“I didn’t even realize I was a caregiver at first. I don’t even know if I realized I was a daughter caring for her mom. I was just a daughter who didn’t want her mom to die,” Christina Keys said.
