Los Angeles Medi-Cal Planning Attorney
Burbank California Nursing Home Planning Attorney
“Failing to plan is planning to FAIL.” - Alan Lakien
Qualifying for Medi-CAL to Pay for Nursing Homes
“Before you give up in despair and start paying the nursing home private pay rates… until your savings are gone, call our LA Law Medi-CAL Lawyers! We will show you legal ways to meet the eligibility requirements of California’s Medi-CAL Long Term Care!”
Statistics show that 1 in 4 men and 1 in 2 women will find themselves in nursing homes at some point in their lives and it is generally after the age of 65. Nursing home care in California is very expensive, averaging $6,000 per month and can be as expensive as $20,000 a month for sub acute care. Medicare does not pay for long term care. Medicare pays only for an acute medical condition in the hospital and MAYBE up to 100 days after this crisis started.
LA LAW Elder Law Attorneys can help you qualify for Medi-CAL Long Term Care Benefits that WILL PAY for prolonged nursing home stays without you spending your savings on nursing home care.
What Is the First Step in Medi-CAL Planning?
When planning for eligibility for Medi-CAL Benefits, LA LAW Medi-CAL Attorneys will review your assets and suggest how you can reallocate assets to quickly meet the eligibility requirements. The following are measured against the rules of Medi-CAL and then a plan to legally adjust assets will be reviewed when developing a comprehensive Medi-CAL Qualification Plan:
1. Income Planning – How can we reduce or eliminate a Medi-CAL beneficiary’s monthly co-payment (“share of cost”);
2. Asset Eligibility Planning – How can we reallocate non-exempt assets to exempt assets, then qualifying for Medi-Cal benefits;
3. Medi-Cal Estate Recovery Planning – How can we reduce or completely eliminate Medi-Cal estate recovery against the beneficiary’s estate (generally recovered in the way of a lien on the beneficiary’s home upon their’s & their spouse’s death).
LA LAW Elder Law Lawyers meet with you and/or your family and carefully review your estate planning documents, income and assets to develop a comprehensive Medi-Cal Qualification Plan tailored to your specific situation. We will suggest alternative strategies and the intended results with our clients so they can make a comprehensive decision about how they would like to proceed in the Medi-CAL planning process.
When Should I Begin Planning for Medi-CAL?
If you do not have long term care insurance and are approaching retirement age or have a potentially progressing illness or disease (Dementia, Parkinson’s, MS, etc.) that may end in a period of incapacity (requiring long term care), there are many advanced non-crisis strategies that can be put in place BEFORE you even think of needing the care of a nursing home!
Non-Crisis Medi-CAL Planning - Early Medi-Cal qualification planning gives your estate more options that help you get your estate ready for Medi-CAL before you have a medical crisis to deal with. Non-crisis planning would include protecting your estate in case you later become incapacitated and can not make financial decisions. LA LAW Medi-CAL Attorneys will help you establish a Power of Attorney and a Trust with Medi-Cal planning language that ensures your appointed representative can legally reallocate your assets to meet future Medi-Cal eligibility requirements. These estate planning documents will also ensure that your appointed representative has the legal authority to execute a strategy for to minimize or eliminate Medi-Cal Estate Recovery.
What Is a Medi-CAL (Medicaid) Crisis?
LA LAW Elder Law Lawyers define a Medi-Cal CRISIS as a medical situation where an ill or injured person is in the hospital and is being sent to a skilled nursing home for long term care and/ or has already been admitted to a nursing home… at this time of crisis, the ill person or more likely, the family has been notified that the social workers or other facility administration staff thinks the patient and/or spouse may have too many assets to qualify for assistance from Medi-Cal. So many families start writing check to the nursing home and many times impoverish the well spouse in the process.
NOTE: A well spouse can have $109,000 worth of liquid assets and the ill spouse can only have $2,000. The family home is exempt! There are many other exempt items and ways to spend down your money without paying the high costs of private pay rates at a nursing home. There are many ways to legally get a couple’s assets to this level. LA LAW Medi-CAL attorneys can help you with this. DO Not ONLY Listen Only To Medical Staff about Medi-CAL Qualifications.
PLEASE REMEMBER that most hospital social workers, nursing home admissions staff, Medi-Cal workers and other well-meaning medical professionals want to help you, but they are not experienced elder law attorneys that understand exactly how to meet the California rules, regulations and laws of Medi-CAL eligibility and recovery. LA LAW Elder law attorneys know exactly how to help you or your loved one meet the requirements of eligibility. We offer free consultations on the phone or in our office to give you a quick review and we will tell you if we can help you qualify so you can save your family’s home and savings.
Medi-CAL Crisis Planning – In the event, you find yourself or a loved one in the hospital and facing immediate need for skilled nursing care, LA LAW Medi-CAL Lawyers have effective planning strategies can be implemented in emergency situations. At LA LAW Center, LLP, we have most of our clients needing help in the middle of a medical crisis and we are prepared to jump into action to help your avoid paying the private pay rate of the skilled nursing homes. We specialize in Emergency Medi-Cal Planning because most people do not realize that they (or their loved one) will not be covered by Medicare for long term care. Our Elder Law Attorneys are experienced in immediately helping families with Medi-Cal applications for emergency situations and we generally are able to obtain Medi-Cal eligibility for our clients effective the first day of the calendar month in which we fill out the application. We also can help a client to only pay share of costs instead of the entire monthly rate for the nursing home, by implementing the Medi-Cal Pending Status, by filling out the application. In some cases, if the assets are properly allocated, we are even able to obtain retroactive Medi-Cal coverage for the three months prior to the date of application.
Seek Legal Council From an Experienced
Elder Law Attorney
If you are in need of Medi-CAL Long Term Care, you should avoid filling out a Medi-CAL Application on your own unless you are absolutely certain you qualify. Once you have submitted an application to the state, your asset reallocation and estate preservation options may have been eliminated or severely reduced. LA LAW Elder Law attorneys can help you strategically “spend down your assets, instead of paying all of your hard earned saving to the skilled nursing facility!
Successfully applying for Medi-Cal long term care assistance is a complex process that requires you to accurately fill out many government forms, providing proof of income and assets, dealing with the Medi-CAL eligibility workers in answering many follow up asset related questions.
If you have filed an application and were denied benefits, in most cases, LA LAW Medi-CAL Lawyers can help you appeal your case or reallocate your assets and then re-apply for Medi-CAL long term care.
Please contact our office for a free initial consultation with Joseph McHugh, a California Elder Law Attorney. Or you may wish to call our office or check our web site for the date of our next free public class or workshop to learn more about elder law and the legal ways you can stay in control of your assets and your life! (877) 537-8283
After a thorough review of the best strategies for your family situation and our fees for the scope of work, we will structure a comprehensive estate plan created specifically to give you (or your loved one) the best care possible, while protecting your family assets and allowing you to stay in control of your life and your money.
Our Law Firm is located in Southern California; however, our Elder Law Lawyers serve many clients throughout the state and love an occasional road trip to help our clients, their family and friends.
We are very proud of the many personal and professional referrals we receive from happy clients and colleagues. Please contact our office today to schedule a free 30 minute consultation.
Take advantage of a free phone consultation or appointment for a free 30 minute consultation to review your individual situation and determine if you would benefit from our experience and legal services. Call us at:
Local Phone: (818) 241-4238 or
Toll Free Phone: (877) 537-8283 |
