Being Prepared for Long Term Care in Toronto, Ontario and Surrounding Areas
One of the best things that baby boomers in their late fifties and early sixties can do is plan for their own long term care while they still can. Anyone who has cared for their own seventy-something, eight-something, or ninety-something parents can testify to the fact that as Canadians live longer, their long term care needs also increase.
Some of the questions baby boomers planning for their twilight years should ask themselves include:
“Do I need to get long term care insurance?” In many cases, the answer to this question will be yes. Although the government does fund long term care facilities, even these facilities still cost anywhere from $1614.21 per month for a private room, to $1857.55 per month for a shared room to $2161.71 per month for a private room (depending on your assets) . Furthermore, by the time baby boomers need acute long term care, will there still be government-funded long term care facilities? This is a question that is worth asking.
“Where do I want to live in my final years?” Asking where you want to receive long term care is another important question. Children are not always willing or able to take in aging parents and care for them full-time, but many people are reluctant to go to a nursing home also known as a long term care facility. Home health care is an option, but again it can be very expensive. Provincial governments everywhere, including Ontario, want to move in the direction of “community-based” long term care, but how this will exactly play out yet is uncertain — experts are skeptical.
In Ontario alone, already 25,000 people are on the waiting list for a bed space in a long term care facility, in this situation choices are limited unless you can afford to pay for private options.
Tags: aging trends, caregiving, Elder Care, elder care Toronto, long term care Toronto, planning for long term care
