WA Cares Fund Digital Ecosystem

We are at the beginning of a long-term care crisis in the U.S. Americans are living longer than ever and as we age, 7 out of 10 of us will eventually need long-term care. Unfortunately, this care can be an unexpected cost that Medicare doesn't cover, and can become a huge financial burden on middle-class families.

Washington is the first state in the nation to create an affordable way to access long-term care regardless of your economic status or pre-existing conditions. Known as the WA Cares Fund, this ground-breaking new policy was backed by years of research, but in 2023 it was also a new and unfamiliar program, funded through payroll contributions.

It was absolutely critical for WA Cares Fund to lead with a proactive narrative to dispel any misinformation and build public trust across a diverse group of Washingtonians. From a content standpoint, the website needed to do some pretty heavy lifting: explain a complex policy in an accessible way, answer worker questions about contributions and eligibility, and generally demystify the topic of long-term care.

With this challenge defined, THCo set out to design the WA Cares digital ecosystem — first the informational website (wacaresfund.wa.gov), and eventually the benefit management portal where Washingtonians can apply for and access their benefit.

We started with behavioral interviews and user archetype development to understand the needs for all of the different audiences: from young workers at the beginning of their careers, to near-retirees, family caregivers, and more. We organized the archetypes into three cohorts: "Working Washingtonians," "Eligible Beneficiaries" (poised to access funds for care), and "Authorized Representatives" (those empowered to access funds on behalf of loved ones).

This research culminated in an 'experience blueprint,' which would serve as a design and decision-making framework across all sorts of program touch points, including online properties (such as the website) as well as the actual customer service processes.

To reach these different demographics through the website, we designed a range of storytelling devices to present the content: visual diagrams, an interactive calculator that shows how much one contributes and how inflation may adjust their earned benefit amount, case studies with real live Washingtonians, and what we called "receipts," which helped itemize the type of care one could pursue with these funds. We partnered closely with DSHS's communications team on the content strategy and information architecture of the website: they provided all of the policy details and we helped shape and organize the information into an intuitive and accessible format across the site. We also ruthlessly eliminated any policy jargon, to ensure that everyone could understand both the nuts and bolts, as well as how the program might fit into their lives at some point.

The website also presented an exciting challenge as a design system. Working from THCo's brand team's visual identity for WA Cares (designed in a previous phase), I worked with another visual designer to translate the brand into a full digital design language system: an expanded accessible color palette, an evolved typography system that would scale across a range of digital communication touch points and would be extremely legible across various device sizes, responsive page templates, and a component and UI system. I also selected photography and led the creative direction for illustrations and a custom-designed icon system that would anchor much of the website's visual navigation and infographics.

Every design decision was made with accessibility and real Washingtonians in mind. As a groundbreaking new social policy, we wanted to ensure that the WA Cares website had a look and feel that was distinctly modern, but also friendly and easy to navigate.

Leading up to the website launch, we worked closely with the WA Cares Fund team to ensure that every aspect of the user experience was as finely tuned as possible through multiple rounds of usability testing, as well as partnering with the development team throughout the build phase.

After the completion of the public website, we moved on to designing the benefit management portal, where we continued to leverage our experience blueprint and user archetypes to guide the definition of our user flows, requirements, and more. As we moved into more complex UX paradigms to accommodate application flows, profile and preference management, and more, I also continued to build upon and expand the digital design system with new feature designs, UI templates, and components. The final benefit portal launched in July 2026.

During beta testing, Washingtonians were pleasantly surprised that the WA Cares site didn't feel like a "typical" government website, which we took as a huge compliment.

WA Cares has paved the way as a state-based policy solution that directly addresses the long-term care crisis in our society. Several other states are exploring similar programs. ~4.5 million Washington-based workers (nearly the entire non-exempt W-2 labor force) have contributed, with over $3.3 billion collected to fund long-term care benefits.

• A New Option for Long-Term Care Costs The New York Times
• Full Speed Ahead for Nation's First Long-Term Care Social Insurance Program in Washington State The Commonwealth Fund
• Opinion: Few Americans can afford long-term care — but this state program could be a game changer MarketWatch