If you are a resident of Long Beach and you are looking for Medicaid services, let our Long Beach Medicaid attorneys help. The Medi-Cal Outreach and Health Access Program is available to help you choose from all of the health care options available to you. The Long Beach Department of Health and Human Services provides enrollment assistance.
The Long Beach Department of Health and Human Services
The Department is located at 2525 Grand Avenue, Suite 210 and it is open Monday – Friday, 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Walk-ins are welcomed. However, appointments are encouraged in order to ensure that each person is helped in a timely manner.
How does Medicaid work?
If you have specific questions about California’s Medicaid program, Medi-Cal, our Long Beach Medicaid attorneys can assist you. But here is some general information. Medicaid is a state-run program that is available for eligible children and adults with limited income. The eligibility requirements differ in each state, but generally, to be eligible, you must have a low income and limited assets.
Who else may be eligible for Medi-Cal benefits?
Aside from the income limitations, those who are blind, disabled, pregnant or over age 65, may also be eligible for Medicaid. Yet, there are some individuals who, even with income over the limit, may still be able to receive Medicaid benefits. In some situations, the “medically needed” may be covered by Medicaid, as well.
How is Medicaid planning useful?
Medicaid benefits are meant to help low-income individuals pay for medical services. Because Medicaid is a needs-based benefits program, to be eligible you must have no more than $2,000 in assets. Even though certain assets, like your home, are excluded, it is still very easy to deplete your savings before Medicaid will begin covering your long-term care expenses. However, the goal of Medicaid planning is to keep you from exhausting all of your resources, while still being eligible for benefits. Our Long Beach Medicaid attorneys can assist you with your Medicaid planning.
How do the Medically Needy Programs work?
Each state has, what is known as, a “spend-down” period, during which time, the state Medicaid agency will analyze an applicant’s income and expenses to determine whether you qualify for Medicaid benefits. The Medically Needy Program affects how the “spend down” analysis works. With this program, you are allowed to include your medical expenses in the analysis, in order to reduce your income. In other words, if your state has a 6-month spend down period, then you can establish your medical expenses during that period, in order to satisfy your spend down requirement. It is not necessary to show expenses that were actually paid, just those expenses that were incurred.
Who is eligible for Medicaid’s Medically Needy Programs?
While each state has the choice as to whether to offer medically needy programs to its citizens, they also have the discretion to choose which categories of individuals will be eligible for the program. For instance, your state may choose to offer the Medically Needy Program to the elderly, but not to the disabled. States cannot, however, exclude children or pregnant women, if they decide to offer the program. For specific questions about eligibility, ask our Long Beach Medicaid attorneys.
California’s Medically Needy Program
California’s Medicaid law (§50201) provide the following, with regard to the Medically Needy:
(a) A person’s eligibility shall be determined under the Medically Needy program if that person is any of the following: (1) An aged, blind or disabled person who meets one of the following conditions: (A) Is not eligible for or does not want to receive assistance as a PA or Other PA recipient. (B) Has an application pending for SSI/SSP. (2) A child or family member who is both: (A) Linked to AFDC in accordance with Section 50205. (B) Not eligible for or does not want to receive assistance as a PA or Other PA recipient. (3) A caretaker relative who chooses to be included in a child’s MFBU in accordance with Section 50373 (a)(5)(A) 13 or when all children are PA or other PA.
The Affordable Care Act and Medically Needy Programs
The Affordable Care Act allows states to expand Medicaid to low-income adults under the age of 65. Many of the individuals who might have qualified for Medicaid under the Medically Needy Program, may now qualify for Medicaid more easily under the Affordable Care Act’s new expanded coverage. However, these expansions do not affect the elderly (age 65 and older), so medically needy programs are still very important for them.
Join us for a FREE seminar today! If you have questions regarding Long Beach Medicaid, the Medically Needy Program, or any other Medicaid planning issues, please contact the Schomer Law Group either online or by calling us in Los Angeles at (310) 337-7696, and in Orange County at (562) 346-3209.
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