Medi-Cal Income & Asset Limits 2026: California Guide

If you are searching "Medi-Cal income limit 2026" or "Medi-Cal asset limit 2026," you have arrived at a turbulent moment. Medi-Cal is California's version of the federal-state health program, and effective January 1, 2026, Assembly Bill 116 (AB 116, Chapter 21, Statutes of 2025) reinstated an asset test for most non-MAGI Medi-Cal, two years after California had eliminated it. The reinstated limit is $130,000 for one person and $65,000 for each additional household member (up to 10 people), and it holds only through June 30, 2027: starting July 1, 2027 the limit drops to $21,000 for one person and $31,000 for two. That reshapes financial planning for the older Californians and people with disabilities who had two years to forget that asset limits existed.1

This guide walks through every Medi-Cal income standard in effect for 2026, the reinstated asset rules and the date they change again, the category-specific thresholds, and the applicant-facing details that trip people up, including Spousal Impoverishment math and how California treats income above the standards through Share of Cost.

Which Medi-Cal Income Limits Apply to You

The single most common Medi-Cal mistake is reading the wrong number. California runs two separate eligibility systems, and which one applies depends on who you are.

• MAGI Medi-Cal uses Modified Adjusted Gross Income only and has no asset test. It covers adults age 19 to 64, parents and caretaker relatives, pregnant people, and children.2
• Non-MAGI Medi-Cal uses Supplemental Security Income (SSI) income-counting methodology and, since January 1, 2026, a reinstated asset test. It covers people age 65 and older, people with disabilities, and applicants needing long-term care.2

If you are a senior or a person with a disability, the SSI-based non-MAGI standards apply to you, not the MAGI percent-of-FPL chart that calculator sites surface first.

MAGI Medi-Cal: The Income-Only Categories

MAGI Medi-Cal, the post-Affordable Care Act (ACA) expansion framework, counts income only. There is no asset test for any MAGI category.2

Adult Medi-Cal Under the Expansion (138% FPL)

The adult-expansion income standard is 138% of the Federal Poverty Level, with no assets considered. The limit DHCS currently publishes on its Eligibility by Federal Poverty Level chart is $21,597/year for a household of one. That figure is still built on the prior-year (2025) poverty guideline, because Medi-Cal refreshes its MAGI FPL levels on its own schedule rather than the January federal one, so expect it to rise toward 138% of $15,960 when DHCS updates the chart. Parents and caretaker relatives are also covered under MAGI, but California uses a different, lower MAGI standard for that group, so do not read the 138% figure as theirs.2

A 2026 change affects new sign-ups: as of January 1, 2026, some adults can no longer sign up for full-scope Medi-Cal because of their immigration status, a change DHCS heads "Enrollment Freeze." Adults who already have full-scope Medi-Cal keep it, no matter their immigration status, as long as they renew on time and still meet Medi-Cal rules. See our California Medi-Cal Programs guide for the full history.1

Pregnant People and Children

Pregnant people and children qualify at higher percent-of-FPL bands than adults, and none of these categories carries an asset test. Because the exact dollar conversions of these higher bands turn on the household-size FPL and are not locked to a single published California figure, this guide states the percent-of-FPL standard rather than a derived monthly dollar amount.

Former Foster Youth on Medi-Cal (Ages 18 to 26)

People under age 26 who were in foster care on their 18th birthday remain eligible for full-scope Medi-Cal, regardless of immigration status. This parallels the ACA's coverage of adult children up to age 26, for young adults who did not have parents to keep them on family insurance.1

Non-MAGI Medi-Cal: Where Assets Now Matter Again

Non-MAGI Medi-Cal applies to seniors, people with disabilities, applicants needing long-term care, and several historical categories. It uses SSI methodology for income counting and, since January 1, 2026, a reinstated asset test.2

SSI-Linked Medi-Cal (Automatic for SSI Recipients)

If you receive SSI in California you are automatically enrolled in Medi-Cal, with no separate application. The SSI income standard is $994/month for an individual and $1,491/month for a couple, and the SSI asset limits of $2,000 single / $3,000 couple were not changed by AB 116.2

Aged, Blind, and Disabled Pathways

California operates additional aged, blind, and disabled pathways for seniors and people with disabilities whose income is above SSI but who still need coverage, including programs that use a percent-of-FPL income standard above the SSI Federal Benefit Rate. The exact 2026 dollar limits for the Aged and Disabled FPL program are updated by the California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) each spring after the federal poverty guidelines publish; until DHCS releases the formal All County Welfare Directors Letter (ACWDL), the precise single and couple figures are not yet confirmed, so this guide does not state them as final. The reinstated non-MAGI asset limit ($130,000 single / $195,000 couple) applies to these pathways.2

Medically Needy Medi-Cal and Share of Cost

If your income exceeds the non-MAGI income standards, the Medically Needy / Share of Cost (SOC) pathway is how California handles the excess: you pay a Share of Cost each month before Medi-Cal pays.

Share of Cost = Countable monthly income
                − Medically Needy maintenance need level
                − other allowable deductions

The maintenance need level is $600/month for one person and $934/month for a family of two adults. Note the household shape: $934 is the two-adult figure, not the figure for any two-person household. W&I Code §14005.12 does not print those dollar amounts. What the statute does is direct DHCS to seek federal authorization for "maintaining the income levels for maintenance at the levels in effect June 30, 1991," with a replacement standard authorized no sooner than January 1, 2025 but contingent on federal approval and a legislative appropriation. Pegged to 1991, the MNL makes SOC eligibility increasingly unforgiving as living costs rise.2

The full list of deductions applied after the maintenance need level comes from 42 C.F.R. §435.725 and your county's own instructions, so ask your county eligibility worker to run the calculation rather than estimating it from a short formula.3

Pickle, Disabled Adult Child, and Disabled Widow(er) Recipients

Three groups keep no-asset-test status after the AB 116 reinstatement because their asset limits were eliminated under separate federal waiver authority:2

• Pickle Amendment recipients, who lost SSI solely because of a Social Security cost-of-living adjustment. California implements the Pickle Amendment through DHCS ACWDL c07-28.
• Disabled Adult Child (DAC) recipients, adults whose disability began before age 22 who receive Social Security benefits on a parent's record.
• Disabled Widow(er) (DW) recipients.

All three remain exempt from the 1/1/2026 asset reinstatement per DHCS ACWDL 25-18.2

Long-Term Care Institutional Medi-Cal

California's own sources do not describe a gross-income figure that disqualifies a long-term-care applicant. W&I Code §14005.13(a) addresses the case where a person residing in a long-term-care facility "would incur a long-term care patient liability for services under this chapter due to income that exceeds that allowed for the incidental and personal needs of the individual," so excess income produces a share of cost rather than ineligibility, and DHCS's own Medi-Cal Questions and Answers states that a nursing home resident "is allowed only $35 for personal needs." The asset limit is $130,000 single / $195,000 couple, through June 30, 2027.3,2

The 1/1/2026 Asset Limit Reinstatement

This is the biggest 2026 Medi-Cal change. AB 116 (Chapter 21, Statutes of 2025) reinstated the non-MAGI Medi-Cal asset test that California had eliminated on January 1, 2024.2

These Medi-Cal Asset Limits End June 30, 2027

The $130,000 / $65,000 limits are time-bound, and the step down is steep. DHCS states that those limits hold through June 30, 2027, and that starting July 1, 2027 the non-MAGI asset limit is $21,000 for one person, $31,000 for two people, plus $1,550 for every additional person in the household, up to 10 people. If you are planning around today's ceiling, plan around that date as well: for a single applicant the limit falls to roughly one-sixth of what it is now.1

Who Is Not Affected

• All MAGI categories (adults, parents, pregnant people, children) never had an asset test.2
• SSI-linked Medi-Cal keeps the federal $2,000 / $3,000 limits.2
• Pickle, DAC, and DW recipients are exempt.2

Transfers Between 1/1/2024 and 12/31/2025 Are Shielded

Transfers made during the asset-test-elimination window are not subject to transfer-penalty review when applying after 1/1/2026, because the asset test did not apply during those months. Counties cannot reach back into that period for gifts, trust funding, or property transfers.2

The 30-Month Look-Back

California's transfer-penalty look-back is 30 months, shorter than the federal look-back date of 36 months, or 60 months for any disposal of assets made on or after February 8, 2006 (42 U.S.C. §1396p(c)(1)(B)(i)). Beginning July 1, 2026, the number of months reviewed increases by one each month, until the full 30-month review applies to long-term-care applications and members entering long-term care on or after July 1, 2028. The maximum period of ineligibility is 30 months from the date of the transfer. Counties do not need to follow up when electronic asset verification shows transfers under the statewide Average Private Pay Rate (APPR) for nursing-facility care, or when the individual was within the asset limits at the date of the transfer; the 2026 APPR is reported at $14,440/month.3

Spousal Impoverishment (Married Long-Term-Care Applicants)

If you are married and one spouse is applying for institutional Medi-Cal or a home- and community-based services (HCBS) waiver, federal Spousal Impoverishment rules (42 U.S.C. §1396r-5) protect the community spouse. California extends these protections to HCBS, including its §1915(c) waivers, under the ACA's broadened definition of "institutionalized spouse" as implemented by DHCS ACWDLs 17-25 and 18-19, not just to institutional care. The MMMNA applies when the institutionalized spouse is in a skilled nursing facility, is on the HCBS waitlist, or is actively participating in an HCBS program. Note that in HCBS (community) cases there is no $35 personal needs allowance.3

Read that table by the right-hand column. DHCS publishes a single CSRA and a single MMMNA for California; ACWDL 26-02 sets no California CSRA minimum and no MMMNA floor, so the last three rows are the underlying federal standards, not a California range a county will apply.3

When the institutionalized spouse applies, the community spouse may keep non-exempt assets up to the CSRA of $162,660, and may keep enough of the couple's income to reach California's MMMNA of $4,067/month effective January 1, 2026 (DHCS rounds the federal maximum of $4,066.50 to the whole dollar; the 2025 California MMMNA was $3,948). When DHCS measures the community spouse's gross income against the MMMNA, amounts paid for Medicare and other health-insurance premiums are deducted. For the full mechanics, see our California Spousal Impoverishment guide.3

Medi-Cal Share of Cost, and the Miller Trust Question

Applicants who have dealt with Medicaid in an income-cap state such as Texas, Florida, or Arizona often arrive asking whether California requires a Miller Trust, also called a Qualified Income Trust (QIT). We will not answer that with a flat yes or no, because the California sources this guide is built on do not settle it: DHCS's materials and the Welfare and Institutions Code neither impose a Qualified Income Trust requirement nor state that California is exempt from one. Before you pay to set up an income trust, confirm with your county eligibility worker or a California elder law attorney whether your case needs one.3

What California's own sources do establish is how excess income is treated, and it is a share-of-cost mechanism rather than a cliff:

1. W&I Code §14005.13(a) describes a person in a long-term-care facility who "would incur a long-term care patient liability for services under this chapter due to income that exceeds that allowed for the incidental and personal needs of the individual." Excess income creates patient liability, not ineligibility.3
2. Under the Medically Needy pathway, countable income above the maintenance need level becomes the Share of Cost you pay each month before Medi-Cal pays.2
3. For an institutional resident, the statutory floor left to the resident is $35/month for personal and incidental needs (W&I §14005.12(c)(1) in the operative-track version of the section). DHCS states it plainly: "The nursing home resident is allowed only $35 for personal needs."3
4. The rest of the deduction list comes from 42 C.F.R. §435.725 and county instructions, so have the county compute your actual Share of Cost.3

See Medicaid spend-down for the broader concept.

Estate Recovery

Qualifying for Medi-Cal long-term care raises a separate question many families ask: whether the state will later seek repayment from the estate. California recovers only from the probate estate. W&I Code §14009.5(f)(3) defines "estate" as the assets in the individual's probate estate that federal law requires to be subject to a recovery claim, and California did not adopt the optional expanded non-probate definition, so assets that pass outside probate are outside DHCS's reach.5

The full rules, including who is subject to recovery, which services are recoverable, and the available exemptions and hardship waivers, are covered by the DHCS Estate Recovery program and our California Medi-Cal Estate Recovery guide.

How to Apply

You can apply for Medi-Cal four ways: online, by phone, in person, or by mail.4

Decision Timelines

Under federal rules, the county must determine eligibility within 45 days for most applicants and within 90 days for applicants applying on the basis of disability; 90 days is the federal outer cap. Eligible applicants can receive up to three months of retroactive coverage for bills incurred before the application, if they would have been eligible then.4

Renewal

Medi-Cal renews annually. The county first attempts an automatic (ex parte) renewal using information it already has; if that succeeds, you are renewed by notice with no action needed. If it fails, the county mails a Request for Information that must be returned within 90 days of the letter date to keep coverage without reapplying.4

Bottom Line: What 2026 Means for You

1. MAGI Medi-Cal eligibility is unchanged, with no asset test for adults, parents, pregnant people, and children.2
2. Non-MAGI Medi-Cal asset limits are back at $130,000 single / $195,000 couple, and only through June 30, 2027. On July 1, 2027 they fall to $21,000 for one person and $31,000 for two. Plan around both numbers and that date.2,1
3. The 1/1/2024 to 12/31/2025 transfer-shield window is one of the most important practical rules of 2026.2
4. Pickle, DAC, and DW recipients are exempt from the asset reinstatement.2
5. Income above the standards becomes a Share of Cost, not a disqualification: W&I Code §14005.13(a) calls it long-term-care patient liability. Whether a Qualified Income Trust is ever required is a question for your county or a California elder law attorney, not something these sources settle.3

If you are evaluating Medi-Cal eligibility for the first time, start an application through the state portal, or call the Medi-Cal Member Helpline at 1-800-541-5555. For long-term-care planning, do not wait: the 30-month look-back is ramping up, and any new transfer made today may be reviewed when the look-back reaches its full length in July 2028.4,3

Learn More

Find personalized help understanding Medi-Cal eligibility in California at brevy.com.

The information on Brevy.com is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional legal, financial, or medical advice. Rules vary by state and program and change frequently. Always verify with the relevant agency or a qualified professional. Brevy is not a law firm, financial advisor, or healthcare provider.