Can you retain access to savings while making transition from financial independence to Medicare (Medi-Cal) care facility resident?

I may have Medicare and Medicaid mixed up......I mean the one that does assist with care facility residency.

Medical is California's Medicaid program.

You really need to see an elder law attorney because you are about to make a big mistake if you sell the home but have already qualified for Medicaid.

If your father has already applied for medicaid, and medicaid is exempting his house (one home and one car are allowed when on medicaid) then the sale of the house would cause a penalty period and you would not get Medicaid coverage until the money from the home is spent down. You are much better off keeping the home as an exempt asset, against which medicaid will put a lien to recover costs after he passes.

If you keep the home and one car, then you will simply need to spend down his assets to the required amount (set by california).

If the home still has costs (such as a mortgage, upkeep, taxes etc) then another family member would need to pay for these costs in order to keep the home. No spending is allowed on the home as all the assets are then Medicaid assets to be spent for the care of your father.

Your second option is to sell the home now,and accept the penalty period Medicaid will put on him....which means he will pay out of pocket for his nursing home care until the penalty period is over and his assets are spent down.

Angel

And just from a logic standpoint...Medicaid is a program for people who have no assets...are poor/indigent. If you have assets to maintain a home, those assets should be used for the person's care, and not shifting that burden to the taxpayers (sorry, I'm not being rude, this is just a sore point for me)

Angel

I am not trying to bilk the government. My question addressed the transition from were he is now to being Medi-Cal eligible, Medi-Cal approved and living in a care facility funded by Medi-Cal. We are aware that his excess assets would be absorbed by Medi-Cal. I was asking about the availability of his money to liquidate his assets and sustain him until he could be placed in a facility. The house needs prep to be appealing to a buyer. He needs to live somewhere before he moves to a facility. It isn't simply liquidate today and move in tomorrow. Does Medi-Cal take the excess immediately so you are instantly impoverished? Or can this be managed at the rate it falls in place?

...and on the sore point...you have to be VERY wealthy to afford 24-hour long term healthcare. The choice is whether to simply kill yourself or work with what there is and make a legitimate transition from being able to live on your own when you were healthy to having a government program assist you by handing over everything necessary until you are impoverished so you can at least continue living. My father is partially responsible for these programs. He has worked and paid taxes in this country for 55 of his years. Personally, I plan to kill myself and save others the burden of taking care of me.