Monterey, CA Look Into Partnership Eligible Long Term Care Insurance (LTC) To Protect Assets From Medi-Cal
by Richard Kuehn on 12/05/12
View From A Non-Profit Serving Carmel, Carmel Valley, Gonzalez, Greenfield, King City, Marina, Monterey, Pacific Grove, Pebble Beach, Salinas, Seaside And Soledad California Getting old can be expensive, and unfortunately many of the seniors that we serve end up going on Medi-Cal, a programming jointly funded by California and the Federal Government (it's California's version of Medicaid). In order to qualify, you have to be impoverished, but there are ways for a couple to avoid completely losing all of their assets before going on Medi-Cal. This is desirable if one spouse is relatively healthy and wants to retain some assets. If you are in such a pickle, see a good elder care attorney. If funds are in a revocable trust, these must be almost completely exhausted before you or your spouse can go on Medi-Cal. However, if the trust is non-revocable, depending upon when it was created it may or may not count (state officials often go over assets several years in the past to make sure assets are not being hidden by someone before going on Medi-Cal). There is more information about how a spouse or a couple can keep their home, car and other assets in some type of a trust at www.medicaid.gov. However, the rules in California are quite tricky and I still would recommend seeing an attorney because state officials can even go after assets following a person's death when they have been on Medi-Cal. Make sure you are fully protected. Another option to try and protect more of your assets is buying a state approved long-term care policy that is called "partnership eligible LTC". These policies allow you to qualify for Medi-Cal without expending all of your assets. For example, if you buy a partnership that covers $200,000 of care, you would pay out of pocket expenses until you have $200,000 left and still qualify for Medicaid. Visit the National Clearinghouse for Long Term Care Information at www.longtermcare.gov for more information about LTC insurance or click here to find out more about the "partnership eligible" LTC policies.
