Medi-Cal Planning | Paying For Long-Term Care | Eligibility

Who Is Eligible?

A single person is eligible for Medi-Cal if he or she has less than $2,000 in counted assets. Certain assets are exempt, such as: clothes, furniture, and a car. Most importantly, however, the person’s home is exempt as long as he/she indicates on the Medi-Cal application that he/she intends to return home.  Such intention can be purely subjective and will be honored even if returning home is not likely or even if it is impossible.

A married person is eligible for Medi-Cal as long as one spouse lives at home and, together, the couple has no more than $111,560 in counted assets (in 2010). The person’s home is exempt and its value is not counted if he/she intends to return home or the person’s spouse, minor, blind or disabled child lives in the home. The at-home spouse is referred to as the “community spouse” and he/she is allowed to have $109,560 (in 2010) in countable assets. This allowance is called the Community Spouse’s Resource Allowance, or CSRA. The $111,560 figure is comprised of the $2,000 in counted assets that a single person is allowed to have, plus the additional CSRA of $109,560 that the non-institutionalized spouse is allowed to have. Sometimes the couple’s circumstances require a larger CSRA and an elder law attorney can help obtain a court ordered increase in the CSRA for his/her client.

Contact the Kisner Law Firm today and start planning for tomorrow.