Washington is poised to become the first state to establish an employee-paid program creating an insurance benefit to help offset the costs of long-term care, a step advocates say will help an aging population that is likely not prepared for the increasing costs needed for daily assistance.
The measure creates a benefit for those who pay into the program, with a lifetime maximum of $36,500 per person, indexed to inflation, paid for by an employee payroll premium. It has cleared both the House and the Senate, but because the Senate made several changes before passing it earlier this week, the measure now heads back to the House for a final vote.
According to AARP of Washington, 70% of residents 65 and older will require some type of assistance to live independently.
FILE - In this Jan. 9, 2017 file photo, Sen. Maureen Walsh, R-Walla Walla, right, takes the oath of office on the opening day of the 2017 legislative session at the Capitol in Olympia, Wash. Walsh opposes a measure that has Washington poised to become the first state to establish an employee-paid program creating an insurance benefit to help offset the costs of long-term care, saying that people do need long-term care insurance, but that the state should incentivize existing private-sector programs. The measure is facing a final vote in the House. (AP PhotoTed S. Warren, File)
Only an estimated 7 million to 8 million Americans have private long-term care insurance, which is costly and generally requires applicants to pass a health screening. Many assume that Medicare covers long-term care, but that's not the case except for limited care for skilled nursing care or rehabilitation. Qualifying for public coverage under Medicaid, which covers low-income people, involves spending down lifetime savings.
"This is a way to try and give people a benefit that they've paid into that will be able to keep them out of poverty and accessing a broad array of services they may need," said Democratic Rep. Laurie Jinkins of Tacoma, the bill's sponsor.
Opponents call it an unnecessary intrusion by government and an additional tax on employees who haven't had a say on whether they want such a program. Proposed referendum amendments to require voters to weigh in were rejected by lawmakers.
"I do believe people need long-term care insurance," said Republican Sen. Maureen Walsh of Walla Walla. "But to have a state-run government program instead of just incentivizing people who are already doing this work in the private sector, this is crazy."
Under the proposal, premiums of 0.58 % of wages would start being collected from employees on Jan. 1, 2022, meaning an employee who makes $50,000 a year would pay about $24 a month. Employers would not be required to pay into the program. Starting Jan. 1, 2025, people who need assistance with at least three "activities of daily living" such as bathing, dressing or administration of medication, could tap into the fund to pay for things like in-home care, home modifications like a wheelchair ramp and rides to the doctor. The benefit also covers home-delivered meals, and reimbursement to unpaid family caregivers.
To be eligible, workers will have had to have paid the premium working at least 500 hours per year for three of the previous six years in which they're seeking the benefit or for a total of 10 years, with at least five of those paid without interruption. The Senate boosted that requirement from the original House version. The Senate proposal exempts workers who show they already have long-term care insurance.
"We know both in our state and nationally we have a tidal wave of folks who are going to be in a position to need support later in life," said Gov. Jay Inslee, who supports the measure.
Washington isn't the only state that has contemplated long-term care, but it has moved the fastest on creating a defined insurance policy.
While Maine voters last year rejected a referendum that would have provided home care to all seniors and disabled people regardless of income, other states have explored various options.
Hawaii has adopted a public cash benefit for caregivers of the elderly, California is considering a ballot initiative on a public long-term care financing program, Michigan and Illinois are beginning to study public programs for those not on Medicaid, and Minnesota's human services department has proposed two alternative private financing options, according to Howard Gleckman, a senior researcher at the nonpartisan Urban Institute think tank.
"There's a lot of discussion around the country, but Washington state is far ahead in at least getting close to the goal line," Gleckman said.
About two-thirds of adults favor a long-term care program similar to Medicare, according to an Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll last year. That includes 76 percent of Democrats and 56 percent of Republicans.
The Medicare for All bills introduced by Sen. Bernie Sanders and Reps. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash. and Debbie Dingell, D-Mich. expand coverage for long-term care, emphasizing home and community based services.
Advocates say that while any federal plan could compliment state efforts, legislators should not wait on Congress.
"What they're proposing right now could take years to actually be realized," said AARP Washington Advocacy Director Cathy MacCaul, who noted that the median retirement savings for people over 65 is just $148,000, while the lifetime cost of care can average as high $266,000. "The challenge exists now."
AP reporter Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar contributed from Washington, D.C.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The man who broke into the home of then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi seeking to hold her hostage and bludgeoned her husband with a hammer was sentenced Friday to 30 years in prison.
But prosecutors later filed a motion saying the court failed to offer the defendant, David DePape, an opportunity “to speak or present any information to mitigate the sentence" as required by federal rule. They asked the court to reopen the sentencing portion to allow him that option. The court did not immediately respond.
A jury found DePape, 44, guilty in November of attempted kidnapping of a federal official and assault on the immediate family member of a federal official. Prosecutors had asked for a 40-year prison term.
The attack on Paul Pelosi, who was 82 at the time, was captured on police body camera video just days before the 2022 midterm elections and sent shockwaves through the political world. He suffered two head wounds including a skull fracture that was mended with plates and screws he will have for the rest of his life. His right arm and hand were also injured.
Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley sentenced DePape to 20 years for attempted kidnapping and 30 years for the assault, the maximum for both counts. The sentences will run concurrently. He also was given credit for the 18 months he has been in custody.
In its afternoon motion to the court, the U.S. attorney's office said DePape was not given the opportunity by the court to speak before being sentenced and that could present an issue.
DePape's defense, however, said they opposed bringing back their client to court and filed a notice of appeal, according to the filing. Prosecutors and defense counsel did not immediately respond to emails seeking comment late Friday.
The court has 14 days to correct a sentence resulting from error, prosecutors said.
DePape stood silently as he was sentenced and looked down at times. His public defense attorneys had asked the judge to sentence him to 14 years, pointing out that he was going through a difficult period in his life at the time of the attack, had undiagnosed mental health issues and had no prior criminal history.
At trial, DePape testified that he had planned to wear an inflatable unicorn costume and record his interrogation of the Democratic speaker, who was not at her San Francisco home at the time of the attack, to upload it online.
Ahead of the sentencing, one of his defense attorneys, Angela Chuang, told the judge to consider the prison terms being given to those who participated in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.
"The five most serious sentences for people who were convicted of seditious conspiracy, of literally conspiring to overthrow the government, range from 15 to 22 years," Chuang said.
Corley said the Jan. 6 analogy didn’t adequately reflect the seriousness of breaking into an official's private home. The attack may have a chilling effect on people seeking office in the future, she said.
“They have to think not only, ‘Am I willing to take that risk myself, but am I willing to risk my spouse, my children, my grandchildren?’” the judge said.
Prosecutors asked for the maximum sentence on each count and for DePape to serve 10 years concurrently, giving him a 40-year prison term.
Before sentencing, Christine Pelosi read her father and mother's victim statements, explaining how the violent attack changed their lives. In Paul Pelosi's statement, he explained that 18 months after the attack, he still gets headaches and vertigo and has fainted and fallen twice at home.
“Once you are attacked in such a public and political manner, with such threatening language, you always have to fear a copycat,” Nancy Pelosi said in her statement. “When I encourage people, especially women to consider running for office, physical threats to the family should not even be a factor, but they are.”
Both Paul and Nancy Pelosi said there are still bloodstains on the floor and other signs of the break-in at their home.
“Our home remains a heartbreaking crime scene,” Nancy Pelosi wrote.
DePape admitted during trial testimony that he broke into the Pelosis’ home Oct. 28, 2022, intending to hold the speaker hostage and “break her kneecaps” if she lied to him. He also admitted to bludgeoning Paul Pelosi with a hammer after police showed up, saying his plan to end what he viewed as government corruption was unraveling.
Defense attorneys argued DePape was motivated by his political beliefs, not because he wanted to interfere with Nancy Pelosi’s official duties as a member of Congress, making the charges against him invalid.
Chuang, one of his attorneys, said during closing arguments that DePape was estranged from his family and was caught up in conspiracy theories.
Sky Gonzalez, David DePape’s son, told reporters outside court the 30-year prison term was equivalent to getting a death sentence.
“I think that’s quite sad. I think that’s a really long time, because if you think about it, he’s already nearly 50. Basically, it’s just a death sentence," Gonzalez said before repeating the same conspiracy theories his father wrote about before the attack.
At trial DePape, a Canadian who moved to the U.S. more than 20 years ago, testified that he believed news outlets repeatedly lied about former President Donald Trump. In rants posted on a blog and online forum that were taken down after his arrest, DePape echoed the baseless, right-wing QAnon conspiracy theory that claims a cabal of devil-worshipping pedophiles runs the U.S. government.
Prosecutors said he had rope and zip ties with him, and detectives found body cameras, a computer and a tablet.
Paul Pelosi recalled at the trial how he was awakened by a large man bursting into the bedroom and asking, “Where’s Nancy?” He said that when he responded that his wife was in Washington, DePape said he would tie him up while they waited for her.
“It was a tremendous sense of shock to recognize that somebody had broken into the house, and looking at him and looking at the hammer and the ties, I recognized that I was in serious danger, so I tried to stay as calm as possible,” Pelosi told jurors.
DePape also is charged in state court with assault with a deadly weapon, elder abuse, residential burglary and other felonies. Jury selection in that trial is expected to start Wednesday.
Sergio Lopez, acting assistant agent in charge of the FBI, speaks to reporters after the sentencing of David DePape in federal court Friday, May 17, 2024, in San Francisco. DePape was found guilty last November of attempted kidnapping of a federal official and assault on Paul Pelosi, husband of former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
Sergio Lopez, acting assistant agent in charge of the FBI, speaks to reporters after the sentencing of David DePape in federal court Friday, May 17, 2024, in San Francisco. DePape was found guilty last November of attempted kidnapping of a federal official and assault on Paul Pelosi, husband of former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
Gypsy Taub, ex-partner of David DePape, speaks to reporters after DePape's sentencing in federal court Friday, May 17, 2024, in San Francisco. He was found guilty last November of attempted kidnapping of a federal official and assault on Paul Pelosi, husband of former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
FILE - Paul Pelosi attends a portrait unveiling ceremony for his wife, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., in Statuary Hall at the Capitol in Washington, Dec. 14, 2022. David DePape who was convicted last year in federal court of breaking into former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's San Francisco home will be sentenced in federal court Friday, May 16, 2024. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)
FILE – David DePape is seen, Dec. 13, 2013, in Berkeley, Calif. DePape convicted of attempting to kidnap then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and attacking her husband with a hammer is set to be sentenced in federal court Friday, May 17, 2024. (Michael Short/San Francisco Chronicle via AP, File)
FILE - In this image taken from San Francisco Police Department body-camera video, the husband of former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Paul Pelosi, right, fights for control of a hammer with his assailant David DePape during a brutal attack in the couple's San Francisco home, on Oct. 28, 2022. DePape convicted of attempting to kidnap then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and attacking her husband with a hammer is set to be sentenced in federal court Friday, May 17, 2024. (San Francisco Police Department via AP, File)
