Question for those who are Medi Cal Saavy...

[Ahappymel]

Hi there, Will a family of 6 (me, dh, son age 10, son age 5, sons age 7 weeks-twins) qualify for Medi Cal with a family income of $39,000 or lower? We have one family car, and another clunker with 270K miles on it that I'm willing to donate. Total assets are only a couple thousand at most. I understand they won't consider my retirement account that I paid into when I was working. I can't withdraw it until I retire or die anyhow.

My oldest son is from a previous marriage...not sure how that plays into it. His dad only give me $200 a month anyhow. I already included that in the annual income I mentioned above.

Any info you can give me would be helpful. THANKS!!!!

[TiredX2]

Here are the income guidelines:

http://www.healthyfamilies.ca.gov/HFProgram/Income_Guidelines.aspx

It looks like the guidelines chage based on the age of the child. 

For the twins, the income max would be: $59,988/year

For your 5 year old: $39,888

For the 10 year old: $30,000

The limits are higher, of course, for "Healthy Families"

Good luck!

[Ahappymel]

Oh dear. Well, it looks like we'll qualify for coverage for the twins and 5 yr old. But since we're not under $30,000 does that mean my 10 year old can't have coverage? What other programs are out there for him? Healthy Families told me that we'd have to have $5000 a month to qualify for their program...above our range.

[TiredX2]

That's great news!  That looks like, based on the chart provided, that they qualify the entire family based on the age of the youngest member (so, the cutoff for your family is $5K but that means you should qualify for Medi Cal).  Definately call them back and apply!

[Ahappymel]

what about our 2nd car? should we sell it?

anyone know what the asset cut-off is for a family of 6?

[mamayogibear]

Sell it! I was denied all state aid for almost a year because of a broken down given away car that my ex had and he never signed the paperwork over to his name! It was a nightmare gettting it out of my name and getting to get food stamps and medi cal for me and my kids! I think you can have one car of any value but if you have two the total value has to be less than 4k. But the price of the car isn't based on the condition of the car it is the maximum nanda (?) value of the vehicle if it were in great condition! You can report the sale as a gift and not have any additional income to put you above the assett limit.

[Ahappymel]

Just spoke with my city's Social Services Medi Cal rep who says that income cut off for family of 6 varies for the program. But asset cut-off is $3600. And he says it's a myth that you can't have more than one car. They'll exempt the first car (whichever is the highest value). But the other car counts as an asset. In our case, this clunker is about $500 blue book. Having the car in and of itself, he says, won't disqualify you...but the extra asset amount may tip you over the limit.

So...my next question is (my hubby wants to know)....do they count motorcycles?

[mamayogibear]

Originally Posted by Ahappymel 

Just spoke with my city's Social Services Medi Cal rep who says that income cut off for family of 6 varies for the program. But asset cut-off is $3600. And he says it's a myth that you can't have more than one car. They'll exempt the first car (whichever is the highest value). But the other car counts as an asset. In our case, this clunker is about $500 blue book. Having the car in and of itself, he says, won't disqualify you...but the extra asset amount may tip you over the limit.

So...my next question is (my hubby wants to know)....do they count motorcycles?

Yes they do! I once had a scooter in my name for a month and it haunted me for a long time... Go to know it's a myth you cant have more than one car! I wish I could have a car that's considered low blue book but is actually nicer from being custom because of all the times I've had a broken down parted out car being considered worth 5k, lol. Good luck!