For two years, a parent with modest savings could apply for Medi-Cal in California without anyone asking how much was in the bank. That changed on January 1, 2026. The state budget passed in 2025 reinstated an asset test, also called a property limit, for the parts of Medi-Cal that serve older adults and people with disabilities.
If your family depends on Medi-Cal for IHSS, for help paying Medicare costs or for nursing home care, this matters. Some older pages, including earlier articles on this site, describe the asset test as eliminated. That was accurate for 2024 and 2025 and is no longer accurate. This guide explains the change in general terms. It is not legal advice, and the exact limits and rules are set by the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS), so confirm the current figures with your county or DHCS before acting.
A Short History, Because It Explains the Confusion
- Before 2022, older and disabled Medi-Cal applicants faced a very low asset limit, in the low thousands of dollars for an individual.
- In July 2022, California raised the limit substantially, to a figure in the low six figures for one person.
- From January 2024, the state removed the asset test altogether for these groups.
- From January 2026, the 2025 Budget Act brought a limit back. The figure widely reported at enactment was set at the same general level as the 2022 limit, with a higher amount for couples and an additional allowance for each extra household member, rather than the very low pre-2022 figures.
Because the number has moved three times in four years, the safest thing to do is look it up rather than rely on a figure from a website, a friend or a social worker who learned the rules in a different year. DHCS publishes current Medi-Cal eligibility figures, and the county Medi-Cal office can confirm the one that applies to your household.
Who It Applies To, and Who It Does Not
Medi-Cal has two broad families of eligibility rules.
MAGI Medi-Cal covers most children, pregnant people, parents and working-age adults under 65. It is based on income only, under rules that follow the Affordable Care Act. The asset test does not apply to MAGI Medi-Cal.
Non-MAGI Medi-Cal covers people who qualify because of age (65 and over), blindness or disability, and people in long-term care. This is the group affected. It includes, in general:
- people in the Aged, Blind and Disabled programme;
- people in the Working Disabled programme;
- people on long-term care Medi-Cal in a nursing facility;
- people in Medicare Savings Programs, which have their own federal rules and should be checked separately;
- many people whose IHSS depends on non-MAGI Medi-Cal.
People who receive SSI generally get Medi-Cal automatically because of the SSI award. SSI has its own, much lower federal resource limit, which did not change. Our guide to SSI and living with family covers other SSI rules that affect households.
What Usually Counts and What Is Usually Exempt
Medi-Cal looks at property the person (and a spouse, where relevant) owns and could turn into cash. The detailed rules are in the California Code of Regulations and DHCS guidance, and there are exceptions to almost every line below, so treat this as a map of what to ask about rather than a final answer.
Usually counted:
- cash, checking and savings accounts, and certificates of deposit;
- stocks, bonds and mutual funds held outside a retirement plan;
- real estate other than the home, such as a rental or a second property;
- the cash surrender value of some life insurance policies above a threshold.
Usually exempt or treated specially:
- the home the person lives in, or intends to return to, generally with conditions for long-term care;
- one motor vehicle, generally;
- household goods and personal effects;
- burial plots and certain burial funds;
- some retirement accounts, depending on whether they are in payment status;
- funds in a CalABLE account for a person whose disability began before the qualifying age. Our guide to CalABLE accounts explains how they interact with benefits.
The figure that matters is generally what the person owns on the relevant date in the month, not what passes through an account during it. Income spent in the month it arrives is treated as income, not as an asset, until it accumulates.
Where Most People Will Meet It: the Renewal Packet
Many people who are already on Medi-Cal will not notice the change until their annual renewal. If the county cannot confirm eligibility from information it already holds, it sends a renewal packet asking about income and, for non-MAGI members, about property. Missing the deadline is the most common way people lose coverage, and it is far more common than actually being over the limit.
What to do:
- Watch the mail and the online account for the renewal packet, and return it by the date on it.
- Answer the property questions accurately, and attach the statements requested.
- Keep copies of everything you send, with the date.
- If coverage is ended, read the notice. You generally have a period after termination in which returning the missing information can restore coverage without a new application, and you can request a state hearing if you disagree with the decision.
Our guide to the Medi-Cal renewal packet covers the timelines in detail. A lost Medi-Cal case can also end IHSS, a Medicare Savings Program and Extra Help, so treat any Medi-Cal notice as urgent.
Before Anyone Moves Money
The natural reaction to a reinstated limit is to move savings to a child, buy something or close an account. Stop and get advice first, for three reasons.
- Transfers can be penalised. For long-term care Medi-Cal, giving assets away for less than they are worth can lead to a period of ineligibility. Whether and how a look-back applies after the 2026 change is exactly the kind of detail to confirm with DHCS guidance or an elder law attorney before acting.
- Spending down is allowed, but should be documented. Paying off debt, prepaying a burial, making repairs to the home or buying needed equipment are common ways people reduce countable assets. Keep receipts.
- Some fixes create bigger problems. Adding a child to an account can make the money count against the child, expose it to the child’s creditors and change who inherits it. Our guide to Medi-Cal estate recovery explains what the state can and cannot claim after death, which often matters more than the asset test itself.
Free Help
- County Medi-Cal office: confirms which limit applies and what documents it needs.
- HICAP, the free Medicare counselling programme, at 1-800-434-0222, for questions where Medicare and Medi-Cal overlap.
- Health Consumer Alliance, a network of free legal services organisations that help Medi-Cal members with eligibility problems and hearings.
- Legal aid and elder law attorneys, for transfers, trusts and long-term care planning. Your local Area Agency on Aging can often refer to free senior legal services.
The Short Version
Since January 1, 2026, Medi-Cal for people aged 65 and over, people with disabilities and people in long-term care again has an asset limit. MAGI Medi-Cal for younger adults and families still has none. The home and one car are generally exempt; bank accounts and investments generally count. Most people will meet the change at their next renewal, so return the packet on time. Look up the current limit with DHCS or your county rather than relying on an old figure, and get advice before giving away or retitling any money.
This guide is general information, not legal advice. Medi-Cal rules change, and the exact limits and exemptions are set by DHCS; confirm them with your county office or a legal services organisation before relying on them.