Date: October 6, 2003
For Immediate Release
Contact: Ed Long, (310) 533-1996

Get the Facts About Medi-Cal and Nursing Home Care

Medi-Cal is a combined Federal and California government program that helps elderly and disabled people in need pay nursing home costs (which can total more than $53,000 per year). More than 60% of California nursing home residents are eligible for financial help from Medi-Cal.

The Medi-Cal rules are contained in thousands of pages of laws, regulations and court decisions. Not surprisingly, confusion abounds about the Medi-Cal program. The confusion is costly. "People panic and make costly mistakes, like giving away their homes, because they hear all kinds of misinformation about Medi-Cal," says Ed Long, H.E.L.P. executive director.

Since 1996, H.E.L.P. has assisted older adults and their caring families and friends obtain accurate information about a wide range of crucial aging-related legal and care subjects, including Medi-Cal. Among its activities, H.E.L.P. provides live, two-hour classes on Medi-Cal and other subjects, at locations throughout its South Bay service area.

To make accurate information about Medi-Cal easily available to more people, H.E.L.P. has put its Medi-Cal for Nursing Home Care class on CD-ROM. This Class at Home CD covers all the subject matter of H.E.L.P.'s live Medi-Cal class, and makes it possible for users to share the information with their families, and learn at home or office, at their own pace. H.E.L.P. thanks Candle Corporation, Julius Sumner Miller Foundation and Torrance Memorial Medical Center for their generous technical and/or financial support of this work.

The price for the CD is $40, including tax, shipping and handling. Operating the CD requires a computer with a CD player, speakers or headphones and a 166 processor (or faster), running Microsoft Windows 95™ (or later). For more information, see www.help4srs.org or call (310) 533-1996.

H.E.L.P. is an award-winning Torrance, California - based non-profit service for older adults and their caring families and friends. Since its inception in 1996, it has helped thousands of people meet aging-related legal and care challenges. Its services include public classes, private consultations, and telephone and Internet assistance. H.E.L.P. is located at 1404 Cravens Avenue, Torrance, California 90501. The phone number is (310) 533-1996, and the Internet addresses are www.help4srs.org and www.annuitytruth.org