Rich Pedroncelli, Associated Press

In a news conference last Friday, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger unveiled plans to stop California’s budget deficit by cutting billions of dollars worth of funding for services designed to help the state’s poor.

Schwarzenegger’s budget proposals would offer spending cuts of 12.4 billion dollars including eliminating California’s welfare-to-work program and virtually all child care for low income families. However, thousands of California’s elderly currently in long-term care facilities across the State will not be affected.

The governor’s $83.4-billion plan would also immediately stop funding for local schools, further cut state workers’ pay and take away 60% of state money for local mental health programs. Luckily, state parks and higher education are among the few areas the governor’s new proposal would spare. Seniors in the state should know that there is still time to qualify for the Medi-Cal benefits they need before these new budget tenants are in place. There is still a small window of opportunity for California residents with long-term care needs to qualify for Medi-Cal benefits while preserving their assets and protecting their life savings and the family home.

For help getting your Medi-Cal and estate planning underway, the California Elder Law Center has years of successful experience in Medi-Cal Planning, Estate Planning and Elder Law. We are often called upon to assist those in need of creating or updating wills, trusts, powers of attorney and other estate planning legal documents. We work to actively keep our website up-to-date with the latest information and free resources pertaining to Medi-Cal Qualification and Medi-Cal Planning. Call today for a free consultation: 888-500-6700