The definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter unless the context clearly requires otherwise.
(1) "Account" means the long-term services and supports trust account created in RCW 50B.04.100.
(2) "Approved service" means long-term services and supports including, but not limited to:
(a) Adult day services;
(b) Care transition coordination;
(c) Memory care;
(d) Adaptive equipment and technology;
(e) Environmental modification;
(f) Personal emergency response system;
(g) Home safety evaluation;
(h) Respite for family caregivers;
(i) Home delivered meals;
(j) Transportation;
(k) Dementia supports;
(l) Education and consultation;
(m) Eligible relative care;
(n) Professional services;
(o) Services that assist paid and unpaid family members caring for eligible individuals, including training for individuals providing care who are not otherwise employed as long-term care workers under RCW 74.39A.074;
(p) In-home personal care;
(q) Assisted living services;
(r) Adult family home services; and
(s) Long-term services and supports provided in nursing homes.
(3) "Benefit unit" means up to $100 paid by the department of social and health services to a long-term services and supports provider as reimbursement for approved services provided to an eligible beneficiary on a specific date. The benefit unit must be adjusted annually for inflation by the consumer price index. The adjusted benefit unit must be calculated to the nearest cent/dollar using the consumer price index for the Seattle, Washington area for urban wage earners and clerical workers, all items, CPI-W, or a successor index, for the 12 months before each September 1st compiled by the United States department of labor's bureau of labor statistics. Each adjusted benefit unit calculated under this subsection takes effect on the following January 1st.
(4) "Commission" means the long-term services and supports trust commission established in RCW 50B.04.030.
(5) "Eligible beneficiary" means a qualified individual who is age 18 or older, resides in the state of Washington or has elected to keep coverage when they relocate out-of-state under RCW 50B.04.180, has been determined to meet the minimum level of assistance with activities of daily living necessary to receive benefits through the trust program, as provided in RCW 50B.04.060, and has not exhausted the lifetime limit of benefit units.
(6) "Employee" has the meaning provided in RCW 50A.05.010.
(7) "Employer" has the meaning provided in RCW 50A.05.010.
(8) "Employment" has the meaning provided in RCW 50A.05.010.
(9) "Exempt employee" means a person who has been granted a premium assessment exemption by the employment security department.
(10) "Long-term services and supports provider" means:
(a) For entities providing services to an eligible beneficiary in Washington, an entity that meets the qualifications applicable in law to the approved service they provide, including a qualified or certified home care aide, licensed assisted living facility, licensed adult family home, licensed nursing home, licensed in-home services agency, adult day services program, vendor, instructor, qualified family member, or other entities as registered by the department of social and health services; and
(b) For entities providing services to an eligible beneficiary outside Washington, an entity that meets minimum standards for care provision and program administration, as established by the department of social and health services, and that is appropriately credentialed in the jurisdiction in which the services are being provided as established by the department of social and health services.
(11) "Premium" or "premiums" means the payments required by RCW 50B.04.080 and paid to the employment security department for deposit in the account created in RCW 50B.04.100.
(12) "Program" means the long-term services and supports trust program established in this chapter.
(13) "Qualified family member" means a relative of an eligible beneficiary qualified to meet requirements established by the department of social and health services for the approved service they provide.
(14) "Qualified individual" means an individual who meets the duration of payment requirements, as established in this chapter.
(15) "State actuary" means the office of the state actuary created in RCW 44.44.010.
(16) "Wage or wages" means all remuneration paid by an employer to an employee. Remuneration has the meaning provided in RCW 50A.05.010. All wages are subject to a premium assessment and not limited by the commissioner of the employment security department, as provided under RCW 50A.10.030(4).
Notes:
Effective date—2025 c 380 ss 1-11, 15, 16, and 40-46: See note following RCW 50B.04.180.
Purpose—Effective date—2024 c 120: See notes following RCW 50B.04.180.