The Importance of Properly Terminating Medi-Cal
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- Опубліковано 23 сер 2024
- The proper termination of Medi-Cal is to have them determine you do not qualify or you are ineligible for the MAGI Medi-Cal health insurance. Just letting Medi-Cal terminate because you fail to return forms they sent you can generate a negative action. A negative action may prevent you from enrolling in Covered California health plan with the subsidies or gaining Medi-Cal in the future.
I will be covered under Medicare next August. Currently, I am covered thru covered California MediCal under MAGI due to no income and my eligibility just got approved as my anniversary is September.
I don’t plan on continuing with MediCal once I get under the Medicare coverage. I will also be signing up for Social Security starting August 2025 which will anyways put me over the FPL income together with my 401k withdrawals.
At the time when I get covered under Medicare, do i just call MedICal to let them know I no longer need coverage anymore and is that all I have to do? I also will not need the Medi-Medi option as I will be able to pay my supplemental and Medicare premiums from the social security income plus 401 K. Will stopping medical at that time cause be any issues with Medicare premiums deductions?
I will want to be only on Medicare with supplemental starting August next year with no Medical anymore or also no Medi-Medi anymore as I will be financially able to pay my premiums.
Please advise me how to successfully terminate MediCal under MAGI with no issues and smoothly transition into full Original Medicare with supplemental and allow my premiums to be deducted from the SS check. Is there anything I need to let SS department know that I no longer will be covered under MedICal once Medicare kicks in.
Sorry for the long comment but I just want to do it the right way. Ending one and starting the other on the right foot.
Medi-Cal will get notified of your impending transition to Medicare. They will try to keep you in the system, that's their job. You will need to communicate with them regarding your projected income from SS and 401K distribution. You will need to have proof. The SS award letter is one form of proof. If SS is enough to lift you beyond the Medicare Savings Program (aka Medi-Cal and Medicare) that could be enough.
The county can be tenacious. I just had a client who was flipped into Medi-Cal for her and her Medicare spouse. They make far too much for any program. However, the county Medi-Cal case worker either did not understand their income statement or did not believe it because they did not submit the proper documents.
If you start SS and 401K distributions after you enroll in Medicare, you will be transitioned into the Medi-Cal extra help system. That does not preclude you from enrolling in any Medicare Advantage, Medicare Supplement, or Part D plan you want. If you want to avoid the Medi-Cal drama, you will need to trigger an increase of income before you are Medicare eligible so all of those documents can be forwarded to Medi-Cal and they will not consider you eligible.
So you are suggesting that I start my 401k withdrawals and SS withdrawals earlier than my Medicare eligibility but I don’t want to lose medical until August next year. They would kick me off medical earlier than I need to due to income changes. I was planning on doing SS and 401k withdrawals and Medicare all in August next year when my Medicare coverage begins. I will need Medical until then. Do you recommend I start my 401k and SS after I become Medicare eligible
@@debbiea1723 I’m not suggesting anything. I’m just giving you the course of events. If you have $0 income when your turn 65, you will most likely be Medi-Medi. That is not a bad thing. When your income increases because of the SS or 401k distribution, report that to Medi-Cal and you will lose the extra help.
Hi Kevin thank you for this very informative video. Do we have to go to a Medi-Cal office to terminate Medi-cal or can it be done via email or fax?
You should be able to send your county Medi-Cal a form [MC-217 for mixed households or MC-176 change of status report] either email or through your online portal. Make sure you include your case number and any supporting documentation. Alternatively, you can call your case eligibility worker to report changes. But they usually always want some sort of verification of the changes.
What form due I need to complete to show I'm now married and don't need Medi cal any longer?
MC 176S Status Change Report should allow you to note changes to your household such as marriage. insuremekevin.com/insure-me-kevin/imk-file-explorer/#5735-19972-forms-medi-cal
Kevin, If a person wishes to end medi-cal; if they waited until open enrollment and signed up thru covered calif showing a new/higher income (2nd job or whatever); would that end the medi-cal automatically?
No, if you submit a Covered California application, regardless of the income amount, if you are in Medi-Cal, Covered California will show that you are Medi-Cal eligible. You must submit the proper documents to your county Medi-Cal office to show that you no longer qualify for Medi-Cal, you are ineligible for the program. Once terminated, then you could proceed with a Covered California application.
I had CoveredCA and I was told I qualified for Medi-Cal so I applied. But then I was told that I didn't qualify. Since then I got a job and I do not qualify and want to continue pay for my plan on CoveredCA but it is stuck because they show Medi-Cal. I started trying to resolve this in September and I have submitted all my documents for proof of income and then since then I've gotten no response or given the runaround. So I'm still stuck and CoveredCA open enrollment is ending soon. Today I was told that I was disenrolled from CoveredCA and enrolled in Medi-Cal but I've never received any letter or card. I have 5 rejection letters. I keep getting stuck with LADPH which is horrible to get in touch with. I NEVER have had Medi-Cal and have been paying CoveredCA. So what do I do next? I called today and was told someone will call me back in 4 days (which no one will - it's happened multiple times).
When you are determined eligible for Medi-Cal, regardless of whether it is a correct determination, you must work with the county Medi-Cal case worker to properly terminate the Medi-Cal eligibility. Until Medi-Cal is terminated, you can't have a private health plan with the subsidies through Covered California. Nothing you do in your Covered California account will make any difference until Medi-Cal has been terminated.
Make sure you file the Medi-Cal change in status form that shows the income from your current employment. You should also include one of your latest payroll statements showing your earnings.
You don't have to worry about Open Enrollment. When you are terminated from Medi-Cal, that is loss of coverage qualifying life event for enrolling in Covered California with a Special Enrollment Period.
@@KevinKnauss Thank you! Where do I get that form? I sent in all my 2021 and 2022 payments to LADPH on 11/9 and since then everytime I call them I get the run around. First person said they didn't get it. Second person said they got it and to call these 2 people. I called those 2 numbers for 2 weeks and never got a person. Yesterday I called and was told someone would call me back. So it's going nowhere.
@@kennethlin884 The latest forms are on my website insuremekevin.com/insure-me-kevin/imk-file-explorer/#5735-19972-forms-medi-cal
Sometimes it can be easier to upload the documents through an online account with L.A. County Social Services. It should take less than an hour for someone to review the documents, determine you are ineligible, and change your status. I've seen it done, very quickly. You just have to get to the right person in the department.
Thank you! I've been trying since September and you've been the most helpful. I'm shocked no one had yet told me about this form. I'm going to complete it and take it over to the office today. I've had this job since July and I started to renew CoveredCA in September when I got the notice and it's been dead end after dead end. I really appreciate your advice and helps!
@@kennethlin884 Best of luck. Let us know if you learn anything interesting that might help other people in the same predicament.