Although the Medicare and Medicaid (known as Medi-Cal in California) programs have made enormous progress in extending health care coverage, the eligibility requirements can be very complex. Medi-Cal, is a system of approximately 26 separate health insurance programs. While some of these Medi-Cal programs are funded solely by the State of California, most are jointly funded by the state and federal government and are heavily regulated under both federal and state law.
The training will begin with a brief, general overview of Medi-Cal. The second part of the training will address the specific eligibility requirements of the Medi-Cal programs available to seniors and the disabled, looking at both categorical and financial eligibility and discussing the various exemptions and deductions from income that are applied in determining eligibility. Then the program will address common issues, including how Medi-Cal interacts with Medicare, how individuals can qualify for In Home Supportive Services, and how individuals can meet their share of cost, if they have one. The last part of the training will be spent working through some real case scenarios that attorneys will face when they advise clients in Fenwick's Health Care Clinics.