You may wonder why you would ever want to qualify for Medi-Cal. Most people are aware of the fact that Medi-Cal is a government health insurance program that is only available to people with very limited financial resources.
How could you qualify for Medi-Cal if you planned ahead effectively for retirement? Plus, why would you need Medi-Cal coverage when you are going to be enrolled in the Medicare program?
These are good questions, and we will answer them in this blog post.
Living Assistance
The United States Department of Health and Human Services maintains a website called longtermcare.gov. You can obtain a lot of useful information about living assistance on this website.
According to the site, 70 percent of people who are reaching the age of 65 will someday need help with their activities of daily living.
Medicare does not pay for long-term care, and nursing homes are very expensive. In California, the average annual cost for a room in a nursing home exceeds $90,000.
Medi-Cal Solution
Medi-Cal will pay for nursing home care, and this is why you may want to qualify for Medi-Cal at some point in time, even if you were never financially needy.
The asset limit for an individual is just $2000, but everything that you own is not considered to be countable. Your home is not countable, and your personal effects, household goods, and one vehicle are not countable.
You may also retain ownership of your wedding ring, your engagement ring, and your heirloom jewelry.
To get to the question that serves as the title of this blog post, can you just give away countable assets to qualify for Medi-Cal? The answer is yes and no.
There is a 30 month Medi-Cal look-back period. You can give away assets in an effort to qualify for Medi-Cal coverage, but you must complete the gift giving at least 30 months before you apply.
If you divest yourself of assets within this 30 month time frame, you would be deemed ineligible for a certain period of time. The length of the period of ineligibility would depend upon the total value of the gifts that you gave during the look -back period.
With the proper planning, you can potentially transfer assets to your loved ones well in advance of submitting your application, and you will be poised for eligibility if and when you need long-term care.
Free Report on Medi-Cal Planning
There is a lot to understand if you would like to qualify for Medi-Cal when the time is right. To learn more about the program, download our special report.
This report is free to our readers, and you can access your copy through this website. To obtain access to the download, click this link and follow the simple instructions: Los Angeles Medi-Cal Planning.
To Schedule a Free Consultation
If you are interested in the possibility of working with our firm after learning these facts, please select our “Workshops” tab to RSVP for a free estate planning workshop. At that workshop you will be offered a free one-hour consultation with an attorney: www.collinslawgroup.com/seminars/
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