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Two Looming Threats Every Alameda County Elder Should Know About
Federal changes enacted under H.R. 1 are bringing new eligibility, reporting, and coverage rules beginning in 2027. Although Californians age 65 and older and people with disabilities are exempt from the new 80-hour-per-month work requirement and will continue with annual rather than six-month renewals, that does not mean elders can ignore the coming changes.
Alameda County elders are urged to attend the Elder Justice Symposium at Oakland City Hall on Sept. 25, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., for information that could profoundly affect both their health care and the legacy they hope to leave their families.
For many older adults, a lifetime of hard work has produced two things they understandably want to protect: access to health care while they are living and the home, savings, and other assets they hope to pass to loved ones when they die.
Changes already underway in California make understanding how to protect both increasingly urgent.
The first threat involves Medi-Cal.
Federal changes enacted under H.R. 1 are bringing new eligibility, reporting, and coverage rules beginning in 2027. Although Californians age 65 and older and people with disabilities are exempt from the new 80-hour-per-month work requirement and will continue with annual rather than six-month renewals, that does not mean elders can ignore the coming changes.
California has already reinstated an asset test for certain Medi-Cal recipients age 65 and older, people with disabilities and those needing long-term care. Assets must be reported when applying or renewing coverage.
And another significant change is coming.
Beginning July 1, 2027, California says the Medi-Cal asset limit for affected beneficiaries will fall from $130,000 for one person to just $21,000, and to $31,000 for two people, with certain assets excluded and special rules applying in some circumstances.
There is more. Beginning Jan. 1, 2027, Medi-Cal’s retroactive coverage period will also shrink. For most beneficiaries outside the ACA expansion adult group, coverage of qualifying medical expenses incurred before application will be reduced from three months to two.
For an elder facing hospitalization, long-term care or an unexpected medical crisis, misunderstanding these rules could have enormous financial consequences.
The second threat concerns what happens to everything you worked so hard to acquire.
Many people believe, “I have a will and a living trust, so my family is protected.”
It may not be that simple.
An estate plan is only as effective as the way it has been structured, maintained and implemented. How assets are titled, whether a trust has actually been funded, beneficiary designations, Medi-Cal eligibility and long-term-care planning can all affect whether a person’s wishes are ultimately carried out.
A will by itself does not automatically avoid probate, and simply possessing trust documents does not mean every asset has been properly protected or positioned to pass as intended.
That is why elders should learn the rules before a medical crisis, incapacity or death makes planning far more difficult.
At the Elder Justice Symposium, experts will explain these changes in understandable language and discuss steps that elders and their families should consider now.
Attendees will have an opportunity to learn what questions to ask about Medi-Cal eligibility and renewals, asset limits, estate planning and protecting the legacy they intend for their families.
Do not assume the rules you learned years ago are still the rules governing you today.
Come to Oakland City Hall on Sept. 25, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Bring your questions. Bring your family. Most importantly, bring a willingness to prepare.
The decisions you make before these changes take full effect could profoundly affect your health care, your financial security, and what remains for the people you love.
