Washington voters will decide on a constitutional amendment in November that would allow the Long-Term Services and Supports (LTSS) Trust Fund, also known as the WA Cares Fund, to be invested in stocks and equities.
The WA Cares Fund was established in 2019 to provide a lifetime benefit of $36,500 to eligible beneficiaries. WA Cares is a healthcare program funded through a mandatory payroll tax of 58 cents per every $100 of an employee’s wages. The program provides long-term health services benefits (such as home health care, adult day care, nursing home care, and group home care) to qualifying individuals. It is the first state-operated long-term care insurance program in the country. As of 2025, the program offered limited pathways for exemptions from paying into the program.
An eligible beneficiary must meet the following criteria:
- be 18 years or older,
- unable to perform at least three daily tasks (e.g. eating, bathing, or administering medications) on their own,
- have paid the payroll tax for the equivalent of either a total of 10 years without a break in that period exceeding five consecutive years or a total of three years within the last six years, and
- worked at least 500 hours in the years that they contributed to the payroll tax.
An initiative on the 2024 ballot would have allowed employees and self-employed individuals to opt out of coverage. The initiative, sponsored by Let’s Go Washington, was rejected with 55% of voters against and 45% of voters in favor.
An analysis of the WA Cares Fund conducted by the Washington Office of the State Actuary concluded that the program’s premium rate of 0.58% may be insufficient to keep the program solvent over a 75-year period.
The state constitution prohibits the state from investing funds into stocks or other methods of investment, limiting investments to fixed-income securities such as government and corporate bonds and certificates of deposit. Currently, the following funds are allowed to invest in stocks and equities:
- public pension and retirement funds;
- industrial insurance trust funds; and
- funds that benefit individuals with developmental disabilities.
The Washington State Investment Board, which manages investments of funds, reported a rate of return of 8.5% for the fiscal year ending in June 2024.
In Washington, a legislatively referred constitutional amendment requires a two-thirds (66.67%) vote in each chamber of the Washington State Legislature.
Senate Majority Leader Jamie Pedersen (D-43), Senate Minority Leader John Braun (R-20), and Senate President Pro Tempore Steve Conway (D-29) introduced the constitutional amendment into the Washington State Senate. The amendment passed the Senate on March 10 by a vote of 42 to 7, with 17 Republicans and 25 Democrats voting in favor, and two Republicans and five Democrats voting against. The House approved the amendment on April 11 in a 58 to 28 vote. Among House Republicans, 28 voted in favor and nine opposed, while all 58 Democrats voted in favor.
The same amendment was on the ballot in 2020, where it was rejected with 54% of voters opposed and 45% in favor. The amendment received a majority vote in support in three of Washington’s 39 counties—Jefferson, King, and Whatcom.