Thanks to eligibility changes phased in over the past year and a half, millions of Medi-Cal beneficiaries can now save for a rainy day or preserve inheritances without losing coverage. or maintain a modest nest egg.It also opened the door thousands of people Previously, they were not eligible for Medi-Cal, the low-income health insurance program that covers more than a third of California’s population.
By January 1, 3 million Medi-Cal beneficiaries will be eligible, primarily those who are elderly, blind, disabled, in long-term care, or eligible for the federal Supplemental Security Income program. facing the limit It is based on the value of financial accounts and personal property that you can have to be covered by insurance. Now, about 2 million of them will no longer face these limits, putting them on par with about 12 million other Medi-Cal beneficiaries who do not have asset limits.
They must still be below Medi-Cal. Income standard value, currently costs $1,677 per month for one adult and $3,450 for a family of four for most enrollees. However, this change eliminates a lot of paperwork for applicants and county officials who verify their eligibility.
For a long time, this group of Medi-Cal beneficiaries could only keep $2,000 in the bank. However, for a married couple, she is $3,000. However, the home they lived in, one car, and certain other personal property were exempt. .
“If you had $5,000 in assets, you would have to spend $3,000 on something to prove you were below the eligibility limit,” says the advocacy group Justice in America. Tiffany Huen Cho, senior attorney at Aging. “We had people paying rent in advance, spending money on car repairs, buying new couches and appliances, etc. to reduce their assets in order to reach the $2,000 limit.”
Now, Huyen Cho added: “You don’t have to stay in extreme poverty. You can save for emergencies. You can also save for retirement or as a security deposit if you want to move.”
And people who wanted to leave something for their children when they died can now do so, even if they need expensive long-term care.
The first stage of the rule changes will take place in July 2022, and the criteria will be rose dramatically It amounts to $130,000 for an individual and $195,000 for a two-person household, making it insignificant for the majority of parties involved. After all, most people whose income is low enough to qualify for Medi-Cal probably don’t have that much savings. Therefore, the complete repeal of the so-called means test introduced this year is expected to save fewer people financially than when the change was first made.
Still, some people have more than $130,000 in the bank, and if they needed long-term care in a nursing home or home, their savings would be gone in an incredibly short amount of time. Now, they can qualify for his Medi-Cal to cover the cost.
Last year, Joanne Shinozaki, who lives in Granada Hills, near Los Angeles, hired a private full-time care worker for her mother, Fujiko, who has dementia. But Shinozaki quickly realized that it would cost nearly $11,000 a month and quickly wipe out the roughly $200,000 in savings her father left her with when he passed away early last year. I realized. Reluctantly, she placed her mother in her memory care home, which was less expensive. But after a 10% price increase in January, it now costs $9,000 a month, including food and utilities.
Because of the money Shinozaki’s father left behind, her mother couldn’t qualify for Medi-Cal under the old rules. But now that money means nothing to her. Ms. Shinozaki, a veterinarian, quit her job to coordinate her mother’s care, but she needs to return to her job soon. She applied for her Medi-Cal for her mother and is waiting to be approved.
“If she’s healthy enough to go home, that means we can take her home where she’s lived since 1988,” Shinozaki said. This requires her mother to have access to a caregiver through her Medi-Cal home support services program.
In fact, another benefit of changing the eligibility rules is that it will help caregivers financially, said medical and IHSS policy specialist at Bet Tzedek Legal Services, which provides free legal assistance to people in Los Angeles County. Kim Serfong, who works at home, said:
Advocates who work with Medi-Cal enrollees and applicants say they often have to explain the difference between assets and income. “I think a lot of people are confused,” said Stephanie, program director at the Center for Healthcare Rights, an L.A.-based nonprofit that helps people access Medi-Cal and Medicare. Fajri says. “They say, ‘What do you mean? Could you make $1 million a year? ‘And we say, ‘No, that’s income.’ ”
So, let me be clear: under the new rules, yes, you can have a second home. But if you’re renting, that’s income. And given today’s rental prices, you may no longer qualify for full Medi-Cal benefits. You can also maintain an investment account regardless of the balance, and any distributions, interest, dividends, or capital gains from it will also be income.
Again, most beneficiaries are unlikely to have large amounts of assets and still have incomes low enough to qualify for Medi-Cal. However, if you suddenly inherit a small or large amount of money, you can continue to keep it, although it may temporarily affect your coverage.
Unfortunately, the 1.1 million Medi-Cal beneficiaries who receive Supplemental Security Income are still subject to means testing because different rules apply.
Advocates and legal aid lawyers say there is not enough public education about removing asset limits, and many people are still exempt from asset limits through their bank accounts or personal property. He says he believes that.
People may also worry that the state will take their homes and other assets after their death to recoup the costs spent on their care. Now that people can enroll in Medi-Cal while keeping all their assets, that concern could become even more acute. but, 2017 law amendments This limited the state’s claims to homes and other assets after a person’s death, making it relatively easy to cut them off completely.
States can only claim up to the amount Medi-Cal spends. specific medical services, including long-term and intermediate care and related costs. Even in that case, they can’t touch your home or other assets if you protect it by placing it in a living trust or by other legal measures that keep it out of probate court. And if there is a co-owner who outlives the Medi-Cal beneficiary, the state cannot make a claim against it.
“Now that people can own unlimited assets, they need to be more conscious of protecting their assets should they ever need long-term care,” said Dina, staff attorney at Neighborhood Legal Services of Los Angeles County.・Mr. Dimirdjian says.
The Department of Health Services, which oversees Medi-Cal, announced on its website (dhcs.ca.gov) FAQ Regarding the abolition of the asset test. Another good source of information and legal assistance is the Health Consumer Alliance (healthconsumer.org or 888-804-3536).
Ending the means test will also eliminate a major bureaucratic headache for beneficiaries and applicants, and free up countless hours for Medi-Cal eligibility staff at county offices. .
“People had to come through this and decide what was important and what wasn’t, and they had to prove it, and the county had to verify it,” Western Law and Poverty said David Kane, a senior attorney at the center. “It was nice to be able to say goodbye to that.”
This article was created by KFF Health Newspublish california healthlinean editorially independent service. california healthcare foundation.
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