What changed: the asset limit is back.
For two years, California Medi-Cal had no asset limit. The state eliminated the asset test for most non-MAGI applicants on January 1, 2024, which meant a senior could qualify regardless of how much they held in savings or property, as long as their income met the program’s thresholds. That era is over. Through the 2025-26 state budget, enacted in June 2025 as Assembly Bill 116, California reinstated the Medi-Cal asset limit effective January 1, 2026.
People search for this rule under many names: the Medi-Cal asset limit, the Medi-Cal asset test, the Medi-Cal resource limit, and the Medi-Cal property limit. They all describe the same thing, the cap on countable assets you can hold and still qualify for the asset-tested Medi-Cal programs. The headline is simple: the cap is back, but it is far more generous than the old $2,000 limit that existed before 2024.
The new limits at a glance.
The reinstated limit scales with household size. Here is how it compares to the rule that applied before the 2024 elimination:
| Household | Limit from Jan 1, 2026 | Old pre-2024 limit |
|---|---|---|
| Individual | $130,000 | $2,000 |
| Couple | $195,000 | $3,000 |
| Each additional household member | +$65,000 | — |
So a household of three has a limit of $260,000 and a household of four $325,000. For most families with ordinary savings, the practical takeaway is reassuring: the limit is high enough that a typical nest egg, a home, and a car do not disqualify you.
How to find out if the asset limit affects you.
A four-step self-check. This is a plain-language guide, not an eligibility determination; the county makes the official call.
- Identify which Medi-Cal program you are in. The asset limit applies to the non-MAGI programs listed below. If you are an expansion adult or a child in a MAGI category, there is no asset limit and this rule does not affect you. If you are on SSI-linked Medi-Cal, the SSI $2,000 limit applies instead.
- Add up your countable assets. Count cash, bank accounts, a second vehicle, and second homes or land. Leave out your primary residence, one vehicle, household goods, retirement accounts paying periodic distributions, and designated burial funds.
- Compare to your limit. $130,000 for one person, $195,000 for a couple, plus $65,000 for each additional household member. At or below your limit, the asset test does not disqualify you.
- Note when you must report. New applicants report on any application received on or after January 1, 2026. Current beneficiaries report at their first annual renewal after that date, not before. See the redetermination guide for how renewal works.
Who the asset limit applies to.
The asset limit is back only for the non-MAGI programs. The table below shows where it applies and where it does not.
| Program | Asset limit applies? |
|---|---|
| Aged, Blind and Disabled Medi-Cal | Yes, $130,000 / $195,000 |
| Medi-Cal with a Share of Cost (medically needy) | Yes |
| 250% Working Disabled Program | Yes |
| Long-Term Care (nursing facility) | Yes |
| Medicare Savings Programs (QMB, SLMB, QI, QDWI) | Yes |
| Expansion adults and children (MAGI) | No limit |
| SSI-linked Medi-Cal | SSI $2,000 limit instead |
For the broader picture of how seniors qualify, including income limits, Share of Cost, and the Aged & Disabled Federal Poverty Level program, see Medi-Cal eligibility for California seniors.
What counts as an asset, and what does not.
Most of what makes a home a home does not count. The distinction between countable and exempt assets is where families either worry needlessly or overlook a real problem.
Counted
- Cash
- Checking and savings accounts
- A second vehicle
- Second homes and other non-residence real property
Exempt (not counted)
- Your primary residence
- One vehicle
- Household goods and personal effects, including jewelry
- IRAs and work pensions paying periodic distributions
- Term life insurance
- Whole life insurance with face value $1,500 or less
- Burial plots and prepaid irrevocable burial plans; up to $1,500 in designated burial funds
- Property used for a business or self-support
When you have to report assets.
The reinstatement does not hit everyone at once. The timing depends on whether you are new to Medi-Cal or already enrolled.
- New applicants. Any Medi-Cal application received on or after January 1, 2026 must include asset information. If countable assets exceed the limit, the application can be denied on that basis.
- Current beneficiaries. You do not need to do anything right now. You report assets at your first annual renewal occurring after January 1, 2026, unless you are reporting another change sooner. DHCS mailed an outreach notice to enrolled members in affected programs.
Transfers you made in 2024 and 2025 are protected.
This is the point that causes the most confusion, so it is worth stating plainly. Because there was no asset limit during 2024 and 2025, the state will not look back at gifts or transfers made in that window. Per DHCS policy letter ACWDL 25-18, any transfer made between January 1, 2024 and December 31, 2025 is not counted and is not penalized. You do not need to unwind something you did in good faith during the no-limit period.
What does carry a potential penalty is a transfer made on or after January 1, 2026, and only for nursing-facility Long-Term Care. That is where timing matters and where guessing is dangerous.
The look-back period, and nursing-home transfers.
A look-back period still exists, but it is narrow. It applies only to nursing-facility Long-Term Care admissions, not to community Medi-Cal or most home and community-based programs. From 2026, the state examines transfers made in the 30 months before a Long-Term Care application, excluding the protected 2024-2025 window. The penalty is calculated using the Average Private Pay Rate, $14,440 as of 2025. For the full mechanics of how a transfer penalty is computed, see the look-back period explainer.
Married couples: spousal impoverishment.
When one spouse enters a nursing facility and the other stays home, spousal impoverishment rules protect the at-home spouse. The institutionalized spouse can keep up to $130,000 in assets, and the community spouse can keep assets up to the Community Spouse Resource Allowance, $162,660 in 2026. These protections are designed so the spouse who remains in the community is not left destitute. For how the allowance is calculated and the planning around it, see the spousal impoverishment guide.
If your countable assets are over the limit.
Being over $130,000 is not the end of the road, but it is the moment to get real advice rather than guess. Legitimate options exist, spending down on exempt items, restructuring savings, and certain transfers, but a transfer made on or after January 1, 2026 can trigger a nursing-home penalty, so the sequence and timing matter.
What this means for waiver and in-home programs.
The Assisted Living Waiver and IHSS did not change. What changed is the underlying Medi-Cal eligibility test. Because both programs require full-scope Medi-Cal, an applicant in an asset-tested category must now meet the $130,000 limit again. Most families with savings under the limit are unaffected. For how those programs work, see the Assisted Living Waiver guide and IHSS eligibility.
Common misunderstandings.
- The limit is not $2,000 anymore.The old pre-2024 figure was $2,000 for an individual. The reinstated 2026 limit is $130,000, far higher. Many people who hear “the asset limit is back” assume the worst; the reality is much more generous.
- Your home does not count. A primary residence is exempt. The asset test is about countable assets like cash and second properties, not the house you live in.
- You do not have to act today. Current beneficiaries report at their next renewal after January 1, 2026, not immediately.
- 2024-2025 gifts are safe. Transfers made during the no-limit period are not penalized. The look-back does not reach into that window.