Long Term Care Insurance covers caregiver training

A few weeks ago we got a frantic phone call in our office.

“Can you help me?” the caller asked. Always the optimist, I replied, “We’ll certainly try!”

The caller, a physician living in southern California, began by briefly telling me his story.

“My wife had a stroke not long ago,” he said. “I want to keep her at home and care for her, but I’m still working as a physician. I’ve got insurance to help pay for my wife’s care, but the caregivers I have hired need to be ‘certified.’ Can they get certified by you, through your online Caregiver’s Certification Course?”

I reassured the caller that we would be happy to talk with his insurance company to allow them to preview the course and discuss whether it met their qualifications. I explained to him that our company also provides online nursing assistant training, approved by the State of Oregon, as well as a variety of other approved courses. I gave him the link to see more course details, including sample course modules.

A week later, we got a call back from our physician friend. His insurance company had fully approved the online Caregiver Certification course as meeting their requirements, and he was ready to enroll the two private caregivers he had just hired.

Yesterday the phone rang again, just as I was getting ready to leave the office.

“My grandpa wants me to take the Caregiver’s Certification course,” said the caller.

She asked me a few questions about the course, specifically how an online course works and how she could finish her course, and then she shared with me her own story.

“I’m going to be caring for my grandpa, and he wants me to get trained. This online course fits into my schedule, since I can do it from my house or from my grandpa’s house.”

Smart grandpa! I know if one of my family members wanted to become my caregiver, I’d want them to have the training and skills to do it to the best of their ability.

Research shows that trained caregivers can continue to provide care up to 2 ½ years longer than caregivers without training and support. Not only is that worth the investment, but it is also worth the time and effort.

It’s an added benefit, too, if you can get the course covered by your insurance provider, or maybe even your employer.

If you want to explore these options for yourself, contact us. We’ll be happy to help you!