The other day I was cleaning out my office. (My wife was astounded). I have articles and clippings going back 15 years or more. In doing so, I ran across an article from the Sacramento Bee dated 3/8/2002.  I told you I have old stuff. It is an article entitled “Farm saved by strangers and a lawyer” and you can still find it on the internet.

In brief, here is the story. Mom and Dad met in a detention camp during WWII.  After the war they were able to buy a little 20-acre farm and raise a family. Mom died and the daughter moved onto the land to help Dad. In 1995, Dad moved to a nursing home and Medi-Cal helped pay the bill, a very common event. Dad remained in the nursing home on Medi-Cal until 1997 when he died. His family inherited the farm (or so they thought). They settled in and made a living farming the land. Then the State sent them a letter. It was a bill for $120,000 plus interest. The daughter, who had worked so hard to take care of her parents, was stunned. Now remember, this is over 15 years ago. The family now owed the State $120,000 as a result of Dad receiving health care. 

Now any of you who have been around farmers know that most are land rich and cash poor. This family was the same. They did not have the money. They were in danger of losing the family farm. Long story short, it was only because of a caring stranger who leant the family the money to pay off the State that the farm was saved.

Now, you are asking yourselves, why are you telling us a story from so long ago? It is painfully simple: THE SAME THING CAN HAPPEN NOW IN CALIFORNIA. Every year, families get the same letter demanding money from the probate estates of their deceased parents.

I have now been on the air for over 21 years and every week I have been trying to warn people about this reality. Many will lose their money in the same way. Your family will not get what you worked a lifetime for; the State will. PLEASE PAY ATTENTION NOW. None of this has to happen. You can take steps today to make sure your home and estate are protected. You can today make sure that your family receives your legacy, not the politicians in Sacramento. But there is a catch; you actually have to do something. Every single person who has lost money to the State had a chance to stop it. They did nothing and lost.

It is your choice. It is simple – leave it to the State or leave it to your family. If you choose the former, I cannot help. If you choose the latter, then call me today. Take the steps necessary leave a legacy to those you love.

Many of you have spent time in an emergency room. Some as the patient and some as the spouse, child or friend. It is a difficult time for everyone. In addition to the medical issues of life and death there are lesser issues of care, rehabilitation, and most of all, sometimes, money. Hospitals are expensive. Who will pay?  Sometimes the answer is not who you think it will be. Perhaps you have insurance or Medicare or a Medicare supplement. They will surely pay, right? Not always.

It is possible to be in the hospital without being coded as being in the hospital. You can be “in” the hospital but treated and billed as an outpatient. You can even go up to one of the floors for a day or two, eat the food, take some meds, have some lab work done, yet you are nonetheless considered an “outpatient.” 

How is this possible? Two words that have a massive impact not only for who will pay the hospital bill, but who will pay for skilled rehab. Those two words are “admission” and “observation”. Do you know the difference? You better.

It is now more important than ever that you understand these two words. Make sure that one of your first calls when someone goes to the hospital is to me. Together we can discuss the strategies that could save your family thousands.

The above is a famous court case in California. It is important to every person who is now or may be receiving Medi-Cal (MC) to pay for nursing home care. It deals with SOC which stands for “share of cost”. Let me give you an example.

Fred is in a nursing home. He is married to Wilma. He receives Medi-Cal to help pay for his nursing home (SNF) stay. In many cases Medi-Cal does not pay for the entire cost of the SNF. In my example, Fred has a $2,000 SOC. Every month, Wilma writes a check to the SNF for that amount. She does that needlessly.

Because of this court case, Wilma could use her SOC to pay for other needed medical care that would make Fred’s life better. She could use the money for prescriptions, physical therapy, medical equipment, incontinence supplies, specialized medical equipment and much more. The only requirement is that it has to be part of Fred’s care plan and prescribed by Fred’s doctor.

In other words, it does not have to go to the SNF. It can in fact be used to improve his life. Most people simply do not know this can be done, and, in my experience, the SNF never makes this known to the family.

This is why you should ALWAYS use someone who specializes in applying for Medi-Cal and maintaining eligibility. Don’t take no for an answer. For more information contact me for help.