The limit went away in 2024 and came back in 2026
From January 1, 2024 through December 31, 2025, California did not look at anyone's assets to decide who qualified for Medi-Cal. Since January 1, 2026, if you are 65 or older, live with a disability, live in a nursing home, or have income above the federal tax based rules, the state once again asks what you own. The current limit is $130,000 for one person and $195,000 for two, adding $65,000 for each additional household member up to ten. Adult children living with you do not count. If you already had Medi-Cal, the review happens no later than your next annual renewal. One more date: the budget law signed on June 29, 2026 sets, from July 1, 2027 and as long as the federal government approves it, a limit of $21,000 for one person and $31,000 for two, plus $1,550 for each additional member, applied to people already enrolled at their first annual renewal after that date.
The income limits never went anywhere
Even while the asset limit was gone for two years, the income limits stayed in force the entire time, and they are still the first door you have to walk through. For seniors and people with disabilities, the Medi-Cal program based on the federal poverty level uses 138 percent of that level as its ceiling. In 2026 that works out to $1,836 a month for one person and $2,490 a month for a couple. One detail that helps many families: the state subtracts your Medicare Part B premium before comparing your income with that ceiling, no matter who pays the premium, so the figure that counts is lower than your gross income. These ceilings are updated every April 1. If your income lands a little above the line, do not give up. There are other doors, such as the Medicare Savings Programs described below, and a careful look at the deductions can change the outcome.
Medicare Savings Programs and Extra Help
The Medicare Savings Programs, which pay your Part B premium and, in the case of QMB, also Part A, deductibles and copayments, got their asset limit back on January 1, 2026: $130,000 for one person and $65,000 for each additional household member. California's 2026 monthly gross income ceilings are $1,330 for one person and $1,804 for a couple under QMB, $1,596 and $2,165 under SLMB, and $1,796 and $2,436 under QI, which is renewed every year. These are gross figures and deductions may apply, so it is worth applying even if you are slightly over. Extra Help with prescription drugs is a federal program with its own 2026 ceilings: income of $23,940 for one person and $32,460 for a couple, and resources of $18,090 and $36,100. California's changes do not touch that limit. With full Medi-Cal, a Medicare Savings Program or SSI, Extra Help comes automatically, and in 2026 you pay no more than $12.65 for each covered drug.
Estate recovery and the next step
Many families fear Medi-Cal will take the house after a death. The reality is narrower. The state can only claim for services received from age 55 on, or for a person of any age who was permanently institutionalized, and only if assets were left in that person's name. For deaths on or after January 1, 2017, the claim is limited to property that goes through probate, and to payments for nursing home care, home and community based services, and related hospital care and prescription drugs. There is no claim when a spouse or registered domestic partner survives, or against property that passes by survivorship, trust, or transfer on death. The state can forgive the claim for hardship if you ask within 60 days of its letter, and waives it when the home is worth half or less of the county average. To go over your family's situation calmly and in your own language, call Lara Goulson at (818) 472-5484.
Medi-Cal is worth applying for even if you think you own too much
The limit is higher than most people expect, several things do not count at all, and the rules are about to change again. A twenty minute review of what you actually own and earn tells you where you stand. Call Lara Goulson at (818) 472-5484.
Got your ANOC letter? Call (818) 472-5484 and Lara will walk through it with you at no cost.
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