Medi-Cal Income Limits 2026: Who Qualifies and How to Apply

An adult 19 to 64 qualifies for Medi-Cal, California's Medicaid program, with household income up to $1,836 a month for one person, $2,490 for two or $3,795 for a family of four in 2026. That is 138% of the federal poverty level, and adults at this level face no asset test. The county counts your household's income for this month, so a layoff or a cut in hours shows up right away. Apply today at BenefitsCal: the county has 45 days to send its decision.

2026 Medi-Cal income limits by household size

These limits took effect January 1, 2026. Compare your household's income for the current month, before taxes, with the monthly column.

Your household is you, your spouse if you live together, and everyone you expect to claim as a dependent on your tax return. A pregnant woman counts as herself plus each baby she is expecting.

In a family of four, children 18 and younger qualify up to $7,315 a month (266% of poverty), pregnancy Medi-Cal reaches $5,858 (213%), and the Medi-Cal Access Program covers pregnancy up to $8,855 (322%).

Over 65, blind or disabled: income and asset limits

People 65 or older, blind or disabled qualify through the Aged, Blind and Disabled program with countable income up to $1,836 a month for one person or $2,490 for a couple, figures in force since April 1, 2026, and it also counts what you own.

• Through June 30, 2027: up to $130,000 in countable assets for one person, plus $65,000 for each additional household member, up to 10 people.
• From July 1, 2027: $21,000 for one person and $31,000 for two, plus $1,550 for each additional member, up to 10 people.
• Counted: bank accounts, cash, and any second house or vehicle.
• Left out: the home you live in, one vehicle, household items and some retirement accounts.

The same asset test covers nursing home residents and families whose income is too high under the tax-based rules, and the county checks assets again at every yearly renewal. With income over the limit, you can still get Medi-Cal with a Share of Cost: in each month you get care, you pay a set amount toward your medical bills, and Medi-Cal pays the rest. On Medicare too? Read how Medicaid and Medicare work together and Medicare Savings Programs in California.

Immigration status changes and their dates

Since January 1, 2026, adults 19 and older with an unsatisfactory immigration status who apply get restricted-scope Medi-Cal, which covers emergency care, pregnancy care and nursing home care. Full-scope enrollment for this group is frozen.

• Already enrolled: if you had full-scope Medi-Cal by January 1, 2026, you keep it by renewing on time and meeting the other Medi-Cal rules. If your coverage ends, you have 3 months to sign back up. After that, a new application brings restricted scope only.
• Full scope at any status: children 18 and younger, pregnant people through one year after the pregnancy, and people under 26 who were in foster care on their 18th birthday.
• January 1, 2027: undocumented members, PRUCOL members (people allowed to stay without formal status) and some green card holders in the five-year waiting period leave their health plans for Fee-for-Service Medi-Cal and can see any doctor or clinic that accepts it.
• July 1, 2027: dental care becomes emergency-only, and adults up to 59 start paying a monthly premium of $30 to $50, set in the May 2027 budget revision, to keep full scope. Both changes start at age 19 for undocumented adults and most PRUCOL members, and at 21 for green card holders in the five-year wait. Pregnant members and former foster youth under 26 keep full dental and pay no premium; members 60 and older pay none. A missed premium drops coverage to restricted scope.
• Refugees, asylees, humanitarian parolees and survivors of domestic violence or trafficking with a pending case: federal funding for their full-scope coverage ended in October 2026, and California pays for it through June 30, 2027. From July 1, 2027, refugees move to emergency and pregnancy care only.

How to apply

Apply any time of year, in any of these ways:

• Online: BenefitsCal files your application with your county office, and you manage and renew Medi-Cal there afterward. Covered California takes a Medi-Cal application too and shows low-cost plans when your income is over the limit.
• Phone: call your county office. The Medi-Cal line at 1-800-541-5555 gives you your county's number. Covered California answers at 1-800-300-1506 (TTY 1-888-889-4500).
• In person: visit your county office; find yours on the state's list.

The county must decide within 45 days, or 90 days when you apply on the basis of a disability. Its answer comes as a letter called a Notice of Action. Approval brings a Benefits Identification Card in the mail, you can use Medi-Cal right away, and a mailing follows on joining a health plan.

Old medical bills: retroactive coverage

Medi-Cal pays for covered care in the 3 months before the month you apply, for months in which you would have qualified. The 3-month window holds for applications filed through December 31, 2026. From January 1, 2027, an application reaches back 2 months, or 1 month for expansion adults ages 19 to 64 with no children 18 or younger.

Renewals

The county renews Medi-Cal once a year. Some members get a letter saying coverage renewed with nothing to do; others get a renewal form in a yellow envelope, due back by the date printed on it. Your BenefitsCal account shows your due date. Report changes in income, address or household within 10 days.

For adults 19 to 64 in the ACA expansion group, two rules start in 2027. From January 1, members show earnings of $580 a month or 80 hours a month of work, volunteering, job training or half-time school, with exemptions that include parents of a child 13 or younger, people with disabilities and pregnant people. From March 1, these members renew every six months.

What to do today

1. Add up this month's income for everyone in your tax household: pay stubs, unemployment benefits and self-employment earnings. Compare the total with the table.
2. Apply at BenefitsCal or by phone with your county office. Report this month's income. If a job ended or your hours dropped, give the date.
3. List your medical bills from the last 3 months (2 months if you apply in 2027, or 1 for expansion adults with no children 18 or younger) with the date and provider, and ask for retroactive coverage for those months.
4. Write down your case number and filing date, and send each document the county requests by its due date.

Where it splits

• If the adults are over the limit: check the children and any pregnancy against their higher limits, and compare Covered California plans for the adults. See how the 2027 premium tax credit works.
• If you are 65 or older, blind or disabled with $21,000 to $130,000 in countable assets ($31,000 to $195,000 for a couple): you pass the asset test today, and the lower limit applies at renewals from July 1, 2027. Call the Health Consumer Alliance before that renewal to go over which assets count.
• If you are an adult with an unsatisfactory immigration status applying now: apply for restricted scope to cover emergencies and pregnancy, and enroll every child 18 or younger in full-scope Medi-Cal.
• If Medi-Cal ended because a renewal form was late or incomplete: send the form and the missing papers to your county office within 90 days, and the county reconsiders you without a new application. After 90 days, apply again.

Your leverage: the state hearing

• Denied, reduced or ended: request a state hearing within 90 days of the Notice of Action. File online with the California Department of Social Services, call the State Hearings Division at 1-800-743-8525, or fill in the request on the back of the notice.
• Keep coverage during the appeal: request the hearing before the date the change takes effect, and your Medi-Cal stays as it is until the hearing decision. If the only issue is a change in state or federal law, the county can apply the change before the decision.
• No decision by day 45 or 90: an application the county has left unanswered is grounds for a hearing.
• Free legal help: the Health Consumer Alliance answers at 1-888-804-3536.

Bring in a legal aid lawyer before the hearing when the county counts a house, retirement account or trust as an asset, or a nursing home stay is starting.

Hearing request wording

Write this on the back of the Notice of Action, or read it when you call 1-800-743-8525:

"I request a state hearing about my Medi-Cal. My name is [full name], I live in [county] County, and my case number is [number]. I disagree with the Notice of Action dated [date] because [the county counted pay from a job that ended on DATE / the county has not decided my application filed on DATE / the county counted an asset that is exempt]. Please keep my Medi-Cal unchanged until the hearing decision. I need an interpreter in [language]. My authorized representative is [name, phone]."

Today

Apply today and list your old medical bills. If the Notice of Action that follows is a denial, your 90 days to request a state hearing start on its date.