Schemes to qualify for Medi-Cal targeted

http://www.sacbee.com/content/news/medical/story/9134357p-10059957c.html


By Nancy Weaver Teichert -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 2:15 am PDT Saturday, May 1, 2004

Some older Californians are impoverishing themselves to get taxpayers to pay for their nursing home care, adding to state budget problems and fueling a thriving industry of financial advisers who show them how to do it, state officials say.
Elder advisers argue that they're just helping seniors get what they're entitled to, but state officials are promising to crack down on what they view as abuse of the Medi-Cal system.

Last month, a search warrant was served on one of California's most well-known advisers on seniors - James Walker - by the state attorney general's office, alleging $50 million in Medi-Cal fraud. The 44-year-old Placer County lawyer, who has a syndicated radio talk show program heard in Northern and Southern California, has not been charged with a crime.

Advertising in newspapers including The Bee, in magazines and on the Internet indicates a cottage industry offering advice for a fee on how to save assets and get into a nursing home paid for by Medi-Cal, the state's health insurance program for the poor.

Advocates for seniors warn that people who are thinking about disbursing their assets risk ending up without money for other care options after they no longer need to be in a nursing home.

*snip*

and it's been going on for years. Wealthier seniors have spawned a whole new industry complete with lawyers and accountants advising them how to hide their assets in order to enable them to stick their snouts in the public trough. I've seen it first hand even in the midwest.

it's not just the *wealthier* seniors that are doing this, it's any seniors with assets. my ex mother-in-law had a mobile in the foothills (her HOME)that she was forced to sell because of illness and going on medi-cal. she's deceased now, but had nothing to pass to her 3 children as a result. it sucks....

they should divest themselves whle they are still healthy (there are time limits).. We plan to do this. We will "sell" our home to our oldest son, and then "rent" it from him for the mortgage payment. Of course there will be a written provision that upon our "vacating" the premises, the sale of the home would be divided 3 ways (with the eldest getting back what he was out-of-pocket due to the purchase)...

They are high income and could use the deduction, and the property would go to them anyway.. If we ended up homeless, they would be the ones providing for us anyway..

We are 55 & 60, and are already giving things to them.. Why wait til we are gone.??

The smart thing is to do this while you are healthy.. Do not wait until you are sick or it would be fraudulent to "shift" assets suddenly.

i am a single mom with 4 boys (3 grown). i own my own home and have always been concerned about what *could* happen if i was incapacitated. i don't have a will either. perhaps its time to consult an attorney about this.