Updated Thursday, May 16th, 2024
Updated Monday, December 2nd, 2024
Giving Tuesday

Thank you from all of us at CANHR!
With the holiday season upon us, I want to take a moment to thank you for your support of California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform (CANHR). We are incredibly fortunate to be surrounded by a caring and passionate community that supports our work throughout the year.
I am thankful for the opportunity to lead our organization as we fight for a more equitable, just, and caring long term care system in California. I am also grateful to work with some of the most dedicated and passionate advocates in California – the CANHR staff.
For 40 years, California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform has worked to improve the choices, care and quality of life for California’s long term care consumers. We are a non-profit organization, and rely on donations, grants, and professional training to support our work.
In 2024, CANHR staff answered thousands of individual phone calls from across California, providing consumers with information on Medi-Cal eligibility, visitation and residents’ rights, advocacy support on fighting an unsafe discharge, and much more. We helped fight for Medi-Cal eligibility when people were wrongly denied benefits, and trained hundreds of legal services staff across California, increasing their capacity to represent low income older adults resolve long term care issues. Our staff successfully passed new legislation aimed at providing greater protections against rate increases in RCFEs, and stopping Medi-Cal discrimination in skilled nursing facilities.
To read one of our over 90 educational fact sheets, click HERE.
May you have a safe and happy holiday season, and thank you again for your continued support.

Maura Gibney
Executive Director
California Advocates For Nursing Home Reform
HOW TO SUPPORT CANHR

Please consider making a donation to CANHR online. We greatly appreciate our monthly donors, which allow us to spend more time advocating for the rights of individuals than on fundraising.
Read more about other ways to support CANHR on our Support CANHR page.
Thank you to all of you for your continued support and advocacy on behalf of older adults and individuals with disabilities in California – it truly makes a difference.
Updated Thursday, May 2nd, 2024
2024 Attorney Online Spring Training Series
All are scheduled Wednesdays, from 12:00pm to 1:30pm. All webinars qualify for one and a half hour of MCLE credits. Sessions will be recorded and a link to the recording will be sent to all registrants after the session. The price is $80 per session, or $220 for all three webinars. CANHR Legal Information Network Subscribers receive a 10% discount, contact frontdesk@canhr.org for a discount code – LIN subscriptions much be current.
Wednesday, May 15, 2024
Medi-Cal Updates
This session will focus on the momentous shift in the Medi-Cal eligibility landscape with the elimination of the asset test. Presenters will cover how to best advise your clients to make the most of the programs that are available and how to access them. This webinar will help you understand new policies and guidance issued by the Department.
Presenters: Pauline Shatara, MA, CANHR Deputy Director & Josie Corporon, Esq., Chico
Wednesday, May 22, 2024
Understanding Trust Income Rules After Elimination of the Medi-Cal Asset Test
This session will focus on the treatment of Trusts after January 2024 Medi-Cal eligibility changes as well as California’s income rules. The presenter will review California’s trust regulations and Medi-Cal Eligibility Procedures Manual guidelines on how to treat income generated by trust assets when such income is received and distributed to or for the benefit of aMedi-Cal beneficiary. This webinar is vital for any estate planner working with Medi-Cal beneficiaries or applicants who may be able to avoid a share of cost.
Presenter: Peter Stern, Esq., Palo Alto
Wednesday, May 29, 2024
Navigating Change: The Impact of Eliminating Medi-Cal’s Asset Test on Special Needs Planning
Explore the complexities of special needs planning following eliminating Medi-Cal’s asset test. This session will cover the foundational rules and strategic use of traditional planning tools, including (d)(4)(A) SNTs, Pooled SNTs, ABLE Accounts, and Third Party SNTs. It will also address the advantages of deploying an OBRA 93 Trust compared to other instruments. Through detailed case studies, participants will deepen their understanding of these tools’ practical applications in common scenarios, enhancing their capability to optimize client outcomes.
Presenter: Kevin Urbatsch, Esq.,The Urbatsch Law Firm, P.C., Berkeley
CLICK HERE TO REGISTER
Updated Wednesday, October 18th, 2023
CANHR’s Lawyer Referral Service

Need an attorney? CANHR’s Lawyer Referral Service (LRS) is the only statewide referral service that deals primarily with elder law issues.
Updated Friday, January 5th, 2024
New Developments
Updated Thursday, July 20th, 2023
Hospital Discharge Decisions

Short hospital stays can be stressful for patients and families who often have to make quick discharge decisions under pressure. Learn more about your rights during the discharge process from CANHR’s Hospital Discharge Fact Sheet.
New Developments
- Report: “How to Become a Billionaire in the Skilled Nursing Industry by Systematically Scamming Taxpayers”
- Sonoma County Requiring Health Care Facility Staff to Wear Masks
- Advancing Elder Justice in California with the CEJC Blueprint
- Webinar on the US Nursing Home Industry – Tuesday, November 19, 2024 at 7 pm
- Legislators Admonish Nursing Home Executives for High Compensation Amid Dismal Staffing Figures
- Ventura County Star Highlights Skyrocketing Assisted Living Rates
- Assisted Living Waiver Program Expected to Reach Enrollment Capacity
- New Long Term Care Resident Voter Rights Fact Sheet
- CANHR Opposes Prop. 35 – Jeopardizes Vital Services for Older Adults and Persons with Disabilities
- New Statute Authorizing Child Support Payments into Special Needs Trusts
