The Long-Term Care Trust Act (HB 1087) has passed in the state House and is now moving through the Senate. I urge you to support this bill. Why? Because this will develop a public long-term care insurance that people will be able to use to care for their spouse, partner or family member if they should need care. This will prevent the family from using all their savings to pay for the care and also save the state money as families will not have to use state-paid Medicaid as soon.

I live with my partner who lives with Parkinson’s disease. Right now he is capable of caring for himself, but we worry about the future. What if he needs help and I am not capable of providing all of it? We have some savings, but the cost of care is frightening.

I urge the state senators, especially Sen. Andy Billig, to pass this bill so that families like mine will not need to struggle to afford the care we need. We need a solution to long-term care costs that will bring peace of mind and financial security to us and other families in Washington.

Andrew Whitver

Spokane