Medi-Cal Requires Full Disclosure of Inheritance or Settlement

Qualifying and obtaining the Medi-Cal benefit is often a complicated process, however, we help our clients navigate this often confusing journey. Once on the Medi-Cal benefit, state law and regulation require that any changes in the circumstances of the applicant/beneficiary must be reported.

One of the major changes we see most often is when a client has received a large sum of money through an inheritance or a settlement from an illness or injury. In order for the client to maintain the Medi-Cal benefit a full disclosure must be done and in a timely manner.

Planning For Seniors is able to do a disclosure for anyone whether they are an existing client or not. Once the Medi-Cal recipient receives the monies a plan is put into action starting with a copy of the inheritance/settlement check. Following the deposit there is a “spend down” process and sometimes a specific trust needs to be prepared depending on the circumstance of the individual receiving the inheritance/settlement. Once the “spend down” checks have cleared the bank we will ask for a new bank statement to show proof that the monies no longer remain in the account. Once that is achieved, all the disclosure documentation is sent into the county for notification and review.

Client Case: Occasionally monies will show up in the form of an account or investment that someone may have overlooked or forgotten completely. In this particular case, our client received a yearly statement from an investment that she didn’t realize she had (there were two accounts with the same name which may have caused the confusion).

Connections were made with the company, the account was closed and the check deposited into her regular checking account. Planning for Seniors orchestrated the “spend down” and disclosure that was done according to state law and regulation, a bank statement showing the checks were cashed and no longer available was obtained as well as a statement from the investment company showing the account closed. All documentation was sent to the County and upon review, her Medi-Cal benefits remained intact.

If you or your loved one, finds yourselves faced with these unusual circumstances, please contact our office at 530-671-3308.