Schemes to qualify for Medi-Cal targeted

http://www.sacbee.com/content/news/medical/story/9134357p-10059957c.html


By Nancy Weaver Teichert -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 2:15 am PDT Saturday, May 1, 2004

Some older Californians are impoverishing themselves to get taxpayers to pay for their nursing home care, adding to state budget problems and fueling a thriving industry of financial advisers who show them how to do it, state officials say.
Elder advisers argue that they're just helping seniors get what they're entitled to, but state officials are promising to crack down on what they view as abuse of the Medi-Cal system.

Last month, a search warrant was served on one of California's most well-known advisers on seniors - James Walker - by the state attorney general's office, alleging $50 million in Medi-Cal fraud. The 44-year-old Placer County lawyer, who has a syndicated radio talk show program heard in Northern and Southern California, has not been charged with a crime.

Advertising in newspapers including The Bee, in magazines and on the Internet indicates a cottage industry offering advice for a fee on how to save assets and get into a nursing home paid for by Medi-Cal, the state's health insurance program for the poor.

Advocates for seniors warn that people who are thinking about disbursing their assets risk ending up without money for other care options after they no longer need to be in a nursing home.

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