On Wednesday, the Legislature passed nearly $500 million in budget cuts before packing up and going home. None of the cuts were to long-term care programs, but still real threats to services remain.

When they return in January, there will still be a $1.5 budget hole facing legislators, and proposals to eliminate home care eligibility for thousands, shut down home care agencies and eliminate adult day health will be front and center.

We need to make sure legislators know they cannot balance the budget on the back of seniors and people with disabilities.

There is still much more work to be done.

Take a few minutes and watch some of the real stories of Washingtonians who rely on vital services ranging from adult day health, to home care and programs like Meals on Wheels. Without these programs, many would not have access to the vital health care they need daily.

Then, write a letter to your legislators and tell them: stop care cuts. Make sure your voice is heard in Olympia. Our legislators have to know that we can no longer keep slashing services for our seniors and people with disabilities.

To address the budget deficit, Washington State lawmakers are considering harmful long-term care cuts that would leave thousands of seniors and people with disabilities without critical services including…

• Eliminating Adult Day Health services
• Cutting Home Care for people unable to care for themselves
• Evicting Adult Family Home and Assisted Living residents
• Reducing Meals on Wheels and other senior services
• Forcing Home Care agencies to close their doors

WHAT WILL HAPPEN IF WASHINGTON MAKES THESE CUTS?

People will not be able to cover the cost of their own care.
People who qualify for Medicaid funded long-term care services generally have less than $2,022 per month in income and less than $2,000 in assets. They will not be able to afford to cover the full cost of their care.

Family caregivers will not be able to pick up the slack.
Most caregivers work another job and on average already spend 20 hours per week providing unpaid care to a family member. Family caregivers can’t replace paid care. Many long-term care clients have no family.

Without the support they need, vulnerable people will be at great risk. Without supportive housing or home care, vulnerable individuals will be at risk of injury, self-neglect, homelessness or worse.  There will be an increase in calls to law enforcement 911 and Adult Protective Services.

People will decline faster and utilize more expensive health care services.
Without appropriate support, the health of vulnerable people will decline, leading to an increase in Emergency Room visits and hospitalizations and more people qualifying more quickly for higher levels of care.

Thousands of caregivers will lose jobs.
For every person who loses home care assistance, a home care worker loses income and in the event that was their only client, loses their job. Some agencies and care facilities will lay off their employees or shut down.

WHAT’S THE ALTERNATIVE? RAISE REVENUE.

Over the last three years the State has cut $10 Billion in health and long-term care services, education, and public safety. More cuts will put our communities and most vulnerable at risk, and harm our quality of life.

It’s time for a balanced solution that includes revenue to prevent devastating cuts to critical community services. Here are three things the legislature can do to protect services for seniors and people with disabilities:

1)    Send voters a referendum to raise revenue. Let the voters decide if they want to support raising revenue in order to preserve critical public services.

2)    Close Tax Loopholes. Lawmakers should scrutinize spending through the tax code as carefully as they are scrutinizing spending on education and social services. Taxes that are outdated or are not meeting their intended purpose should be closed.

3)     Raise Fees and Maximize Federal Funds. With a simple majority vote lawmakers can raise fees to ensure that businesses cover the full cost of their oversight and establish safety net assessments to maximize federal funds coming to Washington state, and can also pass revenue bonds to prevent cuts to critical services.