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Medicare is a federal insurance program paid out of Social Security deductions. All persons 65 or older who have made Social Security contributions are entitled to retirement benefits. Certain people younger than age 65 can also qualify for Medicare, including those with disabilities and permanent kidney failure.
Medicare has several parts, including Hospital Insurance (Part A) and Medical Insurance (Part B). Financial need is not a base for Medicare. Anyone who meets the age, disability and/or coverage requirements is eligible. Medicare does not pay for all medical expenses and is usually supplemented with private insurance. After three days of prior hospitalization, Medicare will pay up to 100% for the first 20 days of skilled nursing care. For the 21-100 days, the patient will pay a co-payment. The premiums and co-payments increase every year. There will be no Medicare coverage for nursing home care beyond 100 days in any single benefit period.
Medicare only pays for “skilled nursing care” and does not pay for “custodial care,” and the average stay in a nursing home under Medicare is usually less than 24 days. Thus, few can look to Medicare to pay for substantial long-term care costs.
Medi-Cal is a combined federal and California State program funded jointly by the state and federal governments. The purpose of the program is to help pay for medical care for low-income people and others with limited resources and high medical bills. Many times, Medi-Cal recipients also receive Medicare. However, the programs are not related.
To be eligible for Medi-Cal benefits, you must be 65 years or older, blind or disabled, receiving SSI, or meeting the resource limits.
Effective July 1, 2022, the resource limits were increased to $130,000 for an individual and $195,000 for a married couple. There is usually a share of the cost (deductible) that the program recipients must pay. The cost percentage differs for everyone, based on the person’s monthly income.
Thanks to SB 33 and SB 833, Medi-Cal Recovery was severely restricted for those who died after January 1, 2017.
The State of California is prohibited from recovering if:
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CBM Estate and Trust Law
Carmen B. Marquez, P.C.
At CBM we never charge potential clients for the first 60-minute initial consultation whether or not we are retained. However, we will require a nonrefundable deposit if the potential client requires a second consultation before we are hired. We will apply 50% of the nonrefundable deposit toward the price of the work to be performed on behalf of the client.
CBM also do not charge for follow-up phone calls, emails, and assistance to help our private clients properly fund their trust for up to three months after they execute their Trust. This includes working with our client’s financial advisors (as long as we have our client’s consent) to ensure the trust is properly funded.