This senior got his insurance claim after a fight. He's still worried he'll lose home care

Ron Oliver, right, is worried about losing home care after he was forced to pay out of pocket for months because of delayed insurance claims. Emily Colbourne, left, provides care to him. (Darrell Roberts/CBC)

A St. John's senior is worried that he will lose home care after delayed insurance claims left him paying out of pocket for months.

Ron Oliver, a 72-year-old retired long-term care worker, is partly blind and has mobility challenges, but says he is able to stay in his own home with the help of home care worker Emily Colbourne.

"If she wasn't here, I don't know what I'd be able to do," he said in a recent interview with CBC News.

Oliver said he pays for home care through his bank account, and then his insurance company, Canada Life, reimburses him. But Oliver said this fall, the money from Canada Life stopped coming — meaning he had to pay out of pocket.

Oliver said he contacted Canada Life about the claim, and a customer service representative told him he would receive the money, but it would be delayed by three to four months because of staffing issues.

Oliver said he couldn't afford to wait that long for the payment — and he was afraid he'd lose home care and be forced to leave his home.

"I can't eat. I can't sleep. I wake up in a panic, have panic attacks," he said. "I don't know what I'm going to do."

Two days after his interview with CBC News, Oliver said, Canada Life finally deposited the long-awaited cheques into his account.

Oliver said he was relieved to receive the money — but now he's worried that future claims will be delayed, and he'll be back in the same boat.

"It's still not what we'd call peace of mind," he said.

LISTEN: St. John's senior waits months for insurance claims 

Oliver said he's determined to stay in his home as long as he can.

Canada Life spokesperson Tim Oracheski would not comment on Oliver's case specifically, but said the company is "committed to delivering benefits to all employees and retirees of the Newfoundland and Labrador government."

Where's the money?

Sharron Callahan, executive director of the Newfoundland and Labrador Public Sector Pensioners Association, said over the past six to eight months, she's been hearing from more seniors who have waited for months for reimbursement from insurance companies.

"In a lot of cases this can amount to thousands of dollars," she said. "In the case of somebody who's waiting on payments for home care, if you're backlogged three or four months [with] that amount waiting, it starts to accumulate."

Sharron Callahan is the executive director of the Newfoundland and Labrador Public Sector Pensioners' Association. (CBC)

She said problems arise more frequently with an ongoing expense — like home care — than with a one-time service like a root canal.

Callahan said pensioners can reach out to the pensioners association for help. The Office of the Seniors' Advocate doesn't advance individual cases, but Callahan said the advocate can step in if there is a systemic problem impacting seniors.

Last month, a report from the provincial seniors' advocate noted that more than 84 per cent of more than 1,000 seniors surveyed wanted to remain in their homes as they age, but 32 per cent of those seniors did not did not have the financial means to meet their needs.

According to that report, seniors frequently reach out to the advocate with concerns about home support services — especially the cost of home care. In Newfoundland and Labrador, home care is publicly funded for some seniors who meet a certain income threshold.

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