Comment: New tax adds to burden of those in long-term care

By Ron Muzzall / For The Herald

As of July 1, Washington families began facing a major new tax increase that will hit them where and when they’re most vulnerable; at the bedside of an aging loved one.

Buried in the state’s new two-year operating budget is language that doubles and triples the per-bed annual taxes paid by every licensed long-term care facility in the state. The move shifts millions of dollars in state costs onto the backs of seniors, many of whom are sick and dying.

For all their talk ahead of the 2025 legislative session about making “the wealthy few” in our state pay more, majority Democrats instead went with increasing the cost of care for thousands of private-pay residents across our state.

A similar move in 2003 made headlines and was denounced as a “tax on Grandma.” And yet this session, it passed quietly; without a single media report to warn people. Perhaps that’s because the budget was negotiated in secret and wasn’t made public until the next-to-last day of the session.

As the Republican leader on the Senate Health and Long-Term Care Committee, I’ve heard firsthand from families and facility operators who are already stretched thin. Skilled-nursing facilities in Washington are closing at an alarming rate. The financial pressures — low Medicaid reimbursement, workforce shortages and rising inflation — are making it harder and harder to keep doors open. For families searching for care, the options are shrinking fast.

And now, thanks to this policy change, the costs are rising even faster.

Here’s what the numbers show:

For nursing homes, the annual per-bed fee will more than double to $814 in fiscal year 2026, from the current $359, then jump again to $834 a year later.

Assisted living beds will rise to $383, from $116, more than tripling.

Adult family homes will go to $450, from $225.

These are not token increases. This is a budget maneuver that cuts $57 million in general-fund support for long-term care services and replaces it with higher fees on the facilities, fees that will be passed on to families, especially those paying privately. Over the next four years, this shift will cost facilities and residents an estimated $126 million.

And unlike Medicaid-covered patients, private-pay residents will feel the full force of these rate hikes. These are often people who have worked and saved for decades, only to find themselves priced out of care when they need it most. For many families, the monthly cost of a nursing home already exceeds $10,000. This tax hike will only make that burden heavier.

And what about the long-term consequences? Facilities operating on razor-thin margins may close their doors. Fewer available beds mean longer waitlists, increased pressure on hospitals, and impossible choices for families, especially in rural areas like mine, where there may be only one provider in a 30-mile radius.

We should be focused on stabilizing and strengthening long-term care in this state, not undermining it with new financial hurdles.

If the majority had passed the operating budget proposed by Senate Republicans, Washington families would not be in this predicament. That budget was balanced without raising any taxes or cutting any services, yet Democrats voted “no” both times they had the opportunity.

Instead, they passed a $78 billion budget that raises taxes by $9.3 billion at the state level and another $2.9 billion locally, in just the next four years, and still cuts services.

An example of the cuts is this trade of short-term budget “savings” for long-term damage to Washington’s most fragile safety net. But it didn’t have to be this way.

Caring for our elders is a sacred duty. It shouldn’t be politicized; and it should never be exploited for a quick budget fix. Our seniors deserve better than backdoor taxes that threaten their access to care.

But that’s exactly what this is: a tax on care. And it’s shameful.

State Sen. Ron Muzzall, R-Oak Harbor, represents the 10th Legislative District and serves as the lead Republican member of the Senate Health and Long-Term Care Committee.