SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY Senior Information Guide

increases, and an option that allows you to “step down”
your coverage if your fi nancial situation changes making
it impossible to pay the current premium. You may
designate another person to be notifi ed if you fail to pay
premiums within 30 days of the due date. In the event
that you will later need to apply for Medi-Cal benefi ts, one
dollar of your assets will be protected for every dollar a
Partnership policy has paid out in benefi ts.
You must be a California resident when you purchase a
Partnership approved Long-Term Care Insurance policy,
but you may use the benefi ts outside of California. When
and if you would need to apply for Medicaid (Medi-Cal in
California) and take advantage of the asset protection,
you must be a California resident to protect your assets
under this contract.
Insurers are required to document the long-term care
benefi ts that have been paid on your behalf and to verify
the amount of assets that have been protected. A report
is sent quarterly to the policyholder showing what benefi
ts apply to the asset protection.
When there is a couple and one spouse must go into
a nursing home and the other spouse remains in the
community, the community spouse may retain a certain
amount of assets ($101,640 in 2007) and a certain
amount of monthly income ($2,541 in 2007) without
affecting the eligibility for Medi-Cal of the nursing home
spouse. When the nursing home spouse has a Partnership
LTCI policy, s/he may maintain additional protected
1. Do not let a stranger come into your
home for any reason.
2. Do not hire any home care employee
(personal care attendance, housekeeper,
etc.) without a skip trace and criminal
background investigation being completed,
drug testing and personal and
employment references checked.
3. Be wary of employing an individual who
does not have ‘roots’ within the community.
4. If you are using a third-party employer
to provide a personal care attendant,
make sure they complete a skip trace and
criminal background investigation, drug
testing and reference checking on their
employees and provide active supervision
as part of their service.
5. Make sure the third –party employer has
a process requiring approval by a designated
family member and the employer
before any gift is given.
6. Secure your jewelry, credit cards and statements,
banking records and checkbook.
7. If an employee, yours or any third party
employer, is given cash for purchases,
make sure there is reconciliation process
to ensure that all cask transactions are
documented with receipts and there are
appropriate accounting controls in place.
8. If a home care worker starts to talk
about money problems or displays an
inappropriate interest in your fi nancial
affairs, bring this to the attention of your
family or trusted advisor. If the home
care worker is an employee of an agency,
make sure they are made aware of your
concern.
9. Do not give anyone your ATM card and PIN.
10. Do not give anyone a credit card to use
and allow them to sign your name for the
transactions.
11. Shred any mail that can be used to steal
your identity.
12. Use direct deposit for all payments made
such as Social Security, dividends, annuity
payments, or pension income.
Financial Matters
assets equal to the qualifi ed benefi ts that have been paid
by the Partnership policy. This is in addition to the assets
allowed to the community spouse.
Policies should be purchased to cover only the amount of
assets that need to be protected. The minimum coverage
is $140 per day for one year ($51,100).
Two types of policies are offered by the Partnership.
Nursing Home and Residential Care Facility for the
Elderly policies will cover care in a nursing home or
a residential care facility. The second type of policy
is Comprehensive Policy which covers nursing home,
residential care facility, and home care benefi ts in the
policyholder’s home.
Evaluating and planning for your long-term care needs
is very complex and is something that each individual
should take enough time to understand the many options
that are available. The California Partnership for Long
Term Care insurance is only one option that a person
may wish to consider.
If you have further questions about assessing your
needs for long-term care insurance and other methods
of planning for these needs, you may contact the Health
Insurance Counseling and Advocacy Program (HICAP) to
meet with a HICAP counselor to discuss your individual
questions. This is a free service and counseling is done
by trained, registered HICAP volunteer counselors in local
communities throughout San Luis Obispo County. You
may make an appointment by calling 800-434-0222.
What Can Seniors Do To Prevent Elder Abuse?
13. Do not make donations over the telephone.
Always ask for information to be
sent to you before you decide to make a
contribution.
14. Do not respond to a telephone solicitation
to purchase anything. Do not be
afraid to tell the solicitor to take your
name off their list and then hang up.
15. Do not respond to a telephone call that
informs you are a ‘winner’ of a prize and
you need to send a processing fee for the
prize to be awarded.
16. Do not purchase home repairs from an
individual who just happened to be in
your neighborhood and noticed that your
home needed something.
17. If you home needs repairs, make sure
you get multiple bids before making a
decision. Do not prepay for repairs. Only
pay when the work has been completed
to your satisfaction.
Source: Home Instead Senior Care, Santa Barbara
2007-2009 SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY SENIOR INFORMATION GUIDE 47