Judd Matsunaga of Elder Law Services of California explains that Medi-Cal is the state of California’s version of the federal Medicaid program that provides additional health insurance for qualified individuals who are 65 years of age, blind or disabled.  Medi-Cal is particularly helpful for individuals who are residing in a skilled nursing home that have exhausted their Medicare skilled nursing home coverage.  While Medicare may cover the first 20 days of skilled nursing home expenses, coverage for days 21 through 100 requires a co-payment of $128.00 per day and is only available if the patient continues to show improvement in his or her condition.  On the other hand, Medi-Cal will continue to pay for skilled nursing home expenses indefinitely, regardless of whether or not the patient continues to show improvement.

Unfortunately, many people are misinformed about the eligibility criteria Medi-Cal uses to determine
eligibility.  Such misinformation is likely due to the constantly changing and complicated Medi-Cal rules and regulations.  Despite what you might have heard, you do not have to be poor in order to qualify for Medi-Cal benefits.  With the guidance of an experienced, knowledgeable elder law attorney like Judd Matsunaga, it is legal to implement various planning strategies in order to qualify for Medi-Cal benefits.

Elder Law Services of California is experienced in developing and implementing various Medi-Cal planning strategies to quickly qualify an individual for Medi-Cal benefits and to minimize or completely eliminate any state recovery for benefits received.  Medi-Cal planning is one the firm’s specialties and the firm takes great pride in developing and presenting a choice of sound planning options for their clients which are tailored to their individual circumstances.