Personal Finance & Estate › Medicare, Medi-Cal & long-term care › Medi-Cal (California's Medicaid)
Medi-Cal asset limit ($130,000, reinstated 2026)
Reinstated Jan 2026· Government program
Law or rule (2026)Set by statute, regulation or the agency; numbers change yearly.
Since January 2026, California again caps savings for older and disabled Medi-Cal applicants: $130,000 for one person.
See it on the Personal Finance & Estate map →How it works
Add $10,000 for each extra household member, so $140,000 for a couple. It applies to Medi-Cal for people 65+, blind or disabled, including nursing-home coverage; income-based Medi-Cal for most younger adults has no asset test. The home, one car, household goods and certain other items are generally exempt. California raised its old $2,000 limit to $130,000 in 2022, dropped the test in 2024, and restored it in 2026 to save budget money. Transfers again face a look-back. Confirm current figures with DHCS.
Why it matters for you
It decides how much savings must be spent down before Medi-Cal pays for a parent's nursing home, which drives Medicaid planning. See an elder-law attorney before moving assets.
Rules, limits and sources (2026)
California's 2025–26 budget legislation and Department of Health Care Services guidance to county eligibility offices set the limit and the exempt assets.
Watch out for
How counties apply the restored test after two years without one, and whether the limit changes again in future budgets, is uncertain.
Connections (2)
▸Medi-Cal asset limit ($130,000, reinstated 2026) sets the savings test for senior and disabled Medi-Cal (California's Medicaid)Law or rule (2026)
How they connect
For Medi-Cal based on age, blindness or disability, including nursing-home coverage, applicants must show countable assets under $130,000, plus $10,000 per extra household member. Above that, savings must be spent down or legitimately restructured before Medi-Cal pays. Income-based Medi-Cal for most adults under 65 has no asset test.
When it applies
California raised its long-standing $2,000 limit in July 2022, dropped it in January 2024, and restored it in January 2026 through the 2025–26 state budget.
The rule
State budget legislation and DHCS guidance to counties; DHCS and county eligibility pages publish the limits and exempt assets.
Watch out for
Whether California keeps, raises or drops the limit again depends on future budgets; counties are still adjusting to the change.
▸Medi-Cal asset limit ($130,000, reinstated 2026) is the threshold that drives Medicaid (Medi-Cal) planning & the look-back periodLaw or rule (2026)
How they connect
With no asset test in 2024–25, few families needed planning. Since January 2026, older and disabled applicants must again hold countable assets under $130,000 for one person, so those with more must spend down, use exempt assets or plan around the look-back.
When it applies
Set in the 2025–26 California budget, signed by Governor Newsom in June 2025; DHCS began applying it January 1, 2026.
The rule
The budget trailer bill and DHCS guidance to counties spell out the limit, exemptions and effective date.
Watch out for
How the look-back applies to transfers around the reinstatement, and whether future budgets tighten the limit further, remain unsettled.