I Have Medi-Cal — Can I Still Get Medicare?

No. Having Medi-Cal does not stop you from getting Medicare. Signing up for Medicare does not mean your Medi-Cal disappears the next day either. This is the question I hear most often, usually in a quiet voice, so I want to answer it plainly before anything else: you are allowed to have both.

In fact, many people in our community do have both. There is a name for it — "dual eligible," which simply means you qualify for Medicare and Medi-Cal at the same time. This is not a strange or unusual case. The rules were written with people like you in mind, because so many people are in exactly this situation.

If you have been putting this question off because you were afraid of the answer, please set that fear down. Nothing about turning 65 with Medi-Cal is a punishment.

Some of the seniors who sit across from me lower their voice when they say the word Medi-Cal. A few apologize before they even finish the sentence. Every time, I tell them the same thing: there is nothing here to apologize for.

You worked. You paid taxes out of every paycheck — sometimes from two jobs, sometimes from a small business you opened with your own hands and kept open through years most people never saw. Medicare is funded by those payroll taxes. Medi-Cal is funded by taxes that you and your neighbors paid year after year.

So using these programs is not taking charity. It is the system doing exactly what it was built to do, with money you already put in. You can hold your head up. I have never once thought less of a client for having Medi-Cal, and neither should you.

When you have both, Medicare generally becomes your primary coverage. That means Medicare is looked at first. Medi-Cal generally works alongside it as secondary support, after Medicare has done its part.

The order is the part worth remembering. You do not need to memorize which program handles what. That coordination happens between the two programs, your doctors and hospitals, and the county — not on your kitchen table.

What kind of support you receive, and how much, depends on your own situation and on rules set by the government agencies that run each program. I want to be very clear about this: eligibility is always determined by the government agency, never by me or any other agent. My job is to help you understand what you are looking at, not to decide it.

This is the mistake I most want to prevent. When Medicare is about to start, some people assume they are supposed to give up Medi-Cal — to be polite, or to avoid taking more than their share. Please do not cancel or drop your Medi-Cal on your own.

Instead, report the change. Let your county social services office know that Medicare is starting. The county will then redetermine your Medi-Cal eligibility based on your new situation. That is the correct process, and it is their job, not yours.

Cancelling on your own can leave you with a gap that is difficult to undo, and undoing it can take months. Reporting a change keeps you inside the system, where a person whose job is to review your file can review it properly.

Medicare has costs of its own. Many people do not realize that Medicare Savings Programs exist, and that they can help pay some Medicare costs for people who qualify.

I am not going to quote figures or income limits here, for two reasons. The numbers change, and more importantly, whether you qualify is decided by the government — not by an insurance agent. What I can tell you is that these programs exist, that applications generally go through the county, and that it is worth asking instead of assuming the answer is no.

Every single year I meet someone who never applied because they were sure they would not qualify. Asking costs you nothing but a little time.

Prescription costs worry people more than almost anything else. There is a federal program called Extra Help — also known as the Low Income Subsidy — that can lower prescription drug costs for people who qualify.

People who have Medi-Cal often qualify for Extra Help. I want to choose my words carefully here: many people with Medi-Cal may qualify, but I cannot promise that you will, and no honest agent would. Social Security and the other government agencies make that determination, and only they can.

There is an entire category of Medicare plans built specifically for people who have both Medicare and Medi-Cal. In plain language, these are a type of special needs plan for dual eligible members, designed around the reality that two programs are working together for you.

I am not going to name a single company or plan here, and I would gently suggest you be careful with anyone who leads with a name before they have asked about your doctors, your medications, and your family. Whether plans like this are offered where you live, what they include, and who is able to join all vary by county — and they can change from one year to the next.

That is the honest answer. This is a subject that deserves a conversation at a table, not a glossy brochure pushed across it.

If you want to feel prepared before you talk to anyone — the county, Medicare, your children, or me — a small amount of gathering goes a long way.

If you would like someone to walk through all of this with you in Korean, please call. My name is Rachel Park (박연민). I have been a licensed California life and health insurance agent since 2019, license #0M85647, and I work with Korean-American seniors and their families across Los Angeles County and Orange County.

The consultation is free and there is no rush. Bring your questions — including the ones you think are embarrassing. Those are usually the most important ones. I treat every family who walks in like my own, and I would rather explain something three times than have you sign something you do not understand.

My office is at ROW DTLA, 777 S. Alameda St., 2nd Floor, Los Angeles, and you can reach me at 213‑429‑0314. Having Medi-Cal is not a problem. Let us look at it together.