The Legislature has passed SHB 2467, which would allow employees who move out of state to continue to participate in the long-term services and supports (LTSS) trust program. The House passed the bill on Feb. 12 and the Senate passed it (with no amendments) yesterday. (A broader bill that would make benefits portable as well as adopt several other recommendations of the LTSS trust commission, ESB 6072, was passed by the Senate Feb. 12 and was referred to House Rules on Feb. 26.)

I wrote about both SHB 2467 and ESB 6072 here. Since then, a fiscal note for SHB 2467 was published. The Office of the State Actuary (OSA) estimates (based prior work from Milliman, which has been providing actuarial services for the LTSS trust program) that the provisions of SHB 2467 could increase the premium rate required for solvency by 5–11 basis points. (In other words, the statutory 0.58% tax rate could need to rise to 0.63%–0.69% to maintain program solvency.) Note, however, that Milliman’s baseline actuarial study was done in 2022. OSA expects an updated actuarial study from Milliman this fall; it should provide a better idea of how this change in policy could impact premium rates (assuming SHB 2467 is signed by the governor).

Meanwhile, I-2124, which would make the LTSS program optional, will be on the ballot this fall. As I noted in a blog post about the initiatives to the Legislature, it’s possible that SHB 2467 and ESB 6072 could be considered to be alternatives to I-2124 and therefore be on the ballot themselves. According to the Seattle Times, legislators have been advised to the contrary: “leaders have received confirmation the proposal does not count as an alternative that would have to appear on the ballot alongside the initiative that would make the program optional.”