California Medi-Cal income limits 2026.

Medi-Cal monthly income limits on the 2026 poverty level

Covered California’s Program Eligibility by Federal Poverty Level chart, dated October 2026, lists the Medi-Cal monthly values for 138%, 213%, 266% and 322% of poverty by household size and names the Department of Health Care Services letter ACWDL 26-01 as its source. The yearly 100% column is the HHS 2026 guideline. The chart is labelled for 2027 coverage because Medi-Cal keeps using these figures until the 2027 guideline is adopted in the spring.

Each additional person above eight adds $655 a month at 138%, $1,010 at 213%, $1,261 at 266% and $1,527 at 322%, per the same chart; the tool applies those and labels the result derived.

How the groups line up with KFF

KFF’s January 2026 tables give California parents in a family of three and other adults 138% of poverty, which is the expansion standard with the 5-point disregard. Pregnant coverage is 213% through Medi-Cal and 322% through the CHIP-funded Medi-Cal Access Program. For children, KFF shows Medicaid-funded coverage at 208% for infants, 142% for ages 1 to 5 and 133% for ages 6 to 18, with CHIP-funded Medi-Cal carrying each band up to a 266% upper limit; California has no separate CHIP program, so a child’s coverage is Medi-Cal either way. The Covered California chart simplifies this to Medi-Cal for Kids up to 266%.

Worked examples

A single adult earning $1,800 a month: the 138% limit for one is $1,836, so the income is under the limit by $36, about 135.3% of the 2026 guideline (derived). At $1,900 the same person would be above the adult limit and would be sent to Covered California, where the chart notes 0% of income is owed for premiums between 138% and 150% of poverty.

A family of four with $7,000 a month and a child in school: the children’s 266% limit for four is $7,315, so the child is under by $315 at about 254.5% of poverty (derived). The parents in that household are screened against the 138% limit of $3,795 and are above it, so the family can be split between Medi-Cal for the child and a Covered California plan for the adults.

Method

The monthly limits for sizes 1 to 8 were typed from the Covered California chart read on November 11, 2026; the yearly 100% figures are the HHS 2026 guideline. The tool compares the monthly income you enter with the limit for your group and size and divides your yearly income by the HHS guideline for context. For the Medi-Cal Access Program it checks that income is above the 213% limit and at or below 322%. It uses the tax-household count you give and does not apply MAGI adjustments, the pregnancy household count, or the rules for people aged 65 or over or with disabilities.

What this does not cover

• Non-MAGI Medi-Cal for people aged 65 or over, blind or disabled, which uses different income rules.
• Covered California premium help above 138% of poverty, which the linked ACA page covers.
• The 2027 poverty guideline, which HHS had not published; Medi-Cal usually adopts it in the spring.
• County-run programs such as CCHIP in San Francisco, San Mateo and Santa Clara counties.

Figures read from the sources below on November 11, 2026. Last updated November 11, 2026.

Sources

• Covered California: Program Eligibility by Federal Poverty Level for 2027 (10/2026; Medi-Cal monthly values, source DHCS ACWDL 26-01) (retrieved November 11, 2026)
• KFF: Medicaid income eligibility limits for adults as a percent of the FPL (as of January 2026) (retrieved November 11, 2026)
• KFF: Medicaid and CHIP income eligibility limits for children (as of January 2026) (retrieved November 11, 2026)
• KFF: Medicaid and CHIP income eligibility limits for pregnant women (as of January 2026) (retrieved November 11, 2026)
• HHS ASPE: 2026 poverty guidelines (retrieved November 11, 2026)