Canadians please weigh in on long term care insurance

[kally]

have you heard of it?
Do you know anything about it?
I just went to a presentation about it and I have never bought any kind of insurance.
Do you think it might be necessary in teh future?

Thanks:D

[Mighty Frugal]

Haven't heard of it. What is it?

[razz]

What were you told in the presentation? Please share.

[peggy]

I'm not Canadian, but here is my experience with it in the states. My folks have long term care insurance. We always thought it would be my mom needing it as she has the heart issues, but it's my dad, with parkinson's and alzheimer's who needed it. How it works is, short term, like recovery from surgery or a broken hip, you or your regular insurance pays, but after some time, I think it was 3 or 4 months for my dad, this insurance kicks in. It doesn't pay all, but a big chunk of his daily cost, and my mom pays the rest. Nursing home care is expensive and this will help my mom make her savings go further. Between this insurance, his SS and a small pension, she only has to chip in a small amount per day. But, it's only good for 5 years I think, cumulative between them I believe, so after 5 years, or if she has to go in too, I don't know what we will do. We'll cross that bridge when we come to it, but for now, she is very glad she got it. Actually, one of us could care for her if she needed it. The only reason we couldn't with my dad is the combination of the two diseases made it impossible for us to physically care for him. He isn't heavy at all, but he is a tall man and the parkinson's makes him stiff and the Alzheimer's makes him difficult sometimes.

[iris lily]

My mom had long term care insurance. My parents' end of life happened pretty much as they thought it would: my father died first, suddenly, and with no expense.

My mother lingered for several years with Alzeiherimer's disease and this is where the LTC was very useful. Between it and her income, she could afford a nursing home. In the last year when her insurance ran out, we liquidated her assets and much of her net worth toward her nursing home bill. But then she died, about a year before all of her assets ran out.