Let me share the true story of a phone call I received at my San Jose office, in March 2001. Mrs. "C" (the spouse of an unnamed employee) phoned me to determine if there was cash value in her husband's group term life insurance plan. She added, "I know there is no cash value, but Medi-Cal makes me call and re-confirm every year. You see, my husband retired at age 55, and he had a stroke just six months later...I took care of him until the last two years, when he entered a nursing home (he is currently age 70)."

     Neither Mrs. C's health plan nor Medicare paid for her husband's care. They spent over $100,000 of their savings and eventually applied for Medi-Cal. "...Medi-Cal has allowed me to keep my home and one car," continued Mrs. C, "however, they take all of my husband's retirement check, except $2,200 per month."

     Incredibly, her monthly household income just plummeted from $5,000 to $2,200! This is really the key point of this column: our employees are especially vulnerable to the Medi-Cal "Share-of-Cost" rule, presenting major planning obstacles. Fortunately, the State of California has just announced a unique public-private partnership plan, specifically for the worksite setting. Available as a voluntary employee-paid plan or with employer funding, this long-term care policy offers special protections and exemptions, which would have helped protect Mrs. C's assets from Medi-Cal. This special asset protection feature is not available from other insurance plans.

     The Partnership program has been around for about 10 years, but until now, it was not available for Employers. What is it? In the state's own words, it is an innovative program, a "partnership" between the State of California and a few select insurance companies who have agreed to provide very favorable policy coverage wording to California consumers. 

     Further, these select insurers have agreed to extra consumer-protection and oversight controls to protect purchasers of these policies. A passionate consumer-advocate, Sandra Pierce-Miller directs this DHS program with the conviction that the California Partnership for Long-term Care offers the best possible insurance policies in California.

     The story of Evelyn and Janet, a Department of Health Services educational publication, compares two long-term care insurance claims. To obtain a copy and understand better the basic advantages of a "Partnership" policy, send an email with the words "Evelyn and Janet" in the subject heading, to info@derendinger.com.

Editor's Note: Marc Derendinger is a member of the California Partnership's Agent Advisory Group, is Partnership-Qualified, and is a specialist in bringing group long-term care and disability solutions to public and private California employers. He is an employee benefits broker based in San Jose , California , and can be reached at (408) 252-7300 or marc@derendinger.com 

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