Resources and sources for information on Long Term Care insurance to help you learn more

National Clearinghouse for Long Term Care Information - Information, to help individuals and their families plan for what they want to happen in case Long Term Care services are needed, is available on this site. It was created by the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). They also coordinate the consumer awareness campaigns, in participating states, which stress the importance of planning for potential high cost long term care assistance. Connecticut may be included in the future.

You can review or print information from theOwn Your Future part of this insightful federal consumer campaign.

To help families understand all the issues involved in aging, e.g. when an individual has frailties, a Connecticut based research organization has various publications.

The Connecticut Partnership for Long-Term Care, a state and private insurance industry alliance, offers extensive and informative information on Long Term Care insurance for Connecticut residents on their website such as:

• Consumer page - then select an informative one page summary on the cost of Waiting
• Planning Today for a Secure TomorrowExtensive information about Long Term Care insurance and the Connecticut Partnership program.

Connecticut has also created a new web site with information on long term care services. It includes a directory of long term care service providers.

Each year, the Life and Health Insurance Foundation for Education (L.I.F.E.) selects individuals who benefited from the insurance protection they purchased. Their stories are then published each September in Newsweek. The L.I.F.E. website contains short, insightful videos on how four individuals benefited from their Long Term Care insurance.

• A man with Alzheimer's disease received assistance during the day, allowing his wife to maintain her career as a lawyer.
• A 55 year old real estate executive, suddenly impacted by a rare neurological disorder, received help at home
• How two teachers benefited from this important "key family protection".
• How an active independent-minded person who wanting to maintain independence even if her health deteriorated benefited from long-term care insurance.

L.I.F.E. also has a very comprehensive section on Long Term Care insurance on their site.

The federal government reinforces the importance of everyone buying Long Term Care insurance by offering active and retired federal employees an opportunity to purchase coverage. It is also available to military members and retirees. The federal program, provided by a partnership between two large insurance companies, has a useful calculator on their web site which everyone can use.
Note: Completing this shows how difficult it is to put away enough funds for anyone thinking about saving and paying for their own care.