California Medicaid Office

California Medi-Cal office (DHCS)

California runs its Medicaid program as Medi-Cal, administered by the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) in Sacramento. Day-to-day enrollment is handled by 58 county social-services offices — DHCS sets policy, the counties take applications and renewals. The agency does not run a single statewide intake line for new Medi-Cal cases; you contact your county.

How to reach Medi-Cal and DHCS

• Medi-Cal Telephone Service Center — (800) 541-5555. Beneficiaries outside California dial (916) 636-1980. TTY: (866) 784-2595.
• Medi-Cal Eligibility Division — (800) 541-5555 or medi-calnow@dhcs.ca.gov for eligibility and annual renewal questions.
• Medi-Cal Managed Care Ombudsman — (888) 452-8609 or mmcdombudsmanoffice@dhcs.ca.gov. Helps with urgent enrollment issues, plan disputes, and connecting members to patients' rights services.
• Medi-Cal Dental member line — (800) 322-6384.
• Medi-Cal Rx pharmacy questions — (800) 977-2273.
• Mental Health Ombudsman — (800) 896-4042 or mhombudsman@dhcs.ca.gov.
• Report Medi-Cal fraud — (800) 822-6222 or fraud@dhcs.ca.gov.

The DHCS mailing address is P.O. Box 997413, Sacramento, CA 95899-7413. The Beneficiary Services Center for Medi-Cal claims and BIC questions uses P.O. Box 138008, Sacramento, CA 95813-8008. Address, income, or household-change reports go to the county that processes your case, not to DHCS directly.

Who qualifies for Medi-Cal?

Medi-Cal eligibility is largely income-based since California's full ACA expansion. Most working-age adults qualify on a modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) basis at or below 138% of the federal poverty level. California also covers many categories that other states do not: children regardless of immigration status under SB 75, and as of January 1, 2024, adults 26–49 regardless of immigration status under full-scope Medi-Cal expansion.

Who qualifies?

• Adults 19–64 — income at or below 138% FPL (the ACA expansion adult group).
• Children under 19 — income up to 266% FPL across Medi-Cal and the Optional Targeted Low Income Children's Program; full scope regardless of immigration status.
• Pregnant individuals — income up to 213% FPL for full-scope Medi-Cal during pregnancy and 12 months postpartum.
• Older adults (65+) and people with disabilities — separate non-MAGI rules. Most non-MAGI Medi-Cal categories use SSI-linked income thresholds.
• Former foster youth — eligible until age 26 without an income test.

Asset limits

California eliminated the asset test entirely for non-MAGI Medi-Cal effective January 1, 2024. Older adults and people with disabilities no longer need to spend down property or savings to qualify. MAGI Medi-Cal never had an asset test.

Share-of-cost Medi-Cal

Adults whose income exceeds the non-MAGI categorical limit can still qualify for Medi-Cal with a monthly share of cost. Once you incur medical bills equal to your share-of-cost amount in a month, Medi-Cal pays the rest of that month's covered services. This pathway is also called the Medically Needy program.

Presumptive eligibility and immediate coverage

Hospital Presumptive Eligibility lets qualified hospitals enroll low-income patients into Medi-Cal at the point of care, with coverage running until the end of the next month or until a full application is processed. Pregnant individuals qualify for presumptive eligibility through qualified providers and clinics statewide.

Medi-Cal income limits

The chart below is DHCS's annual income limit for the 138% FPL MAGI Medi-Cal adult group, current to the chart DHCS published in 2025. Dollar figures change every January when the federal poverty level updates — verify the latest chart with your county before relying on a specific number.

MAGI Medi-Cal — 138% FPL annual household income

Households that don't fit 138% FPL may still qualify through a different program. Children qualify at higher income bands. Older adults and people with disabilities follow non-MAGI rules. Households slightly above 138% FPL should still apply — Covered California can route them to subsidized marketplace coverage if Medi-Cal denies.

Programs with higher income thresholds

• Pregnancy — Medi-Cal covers pregnancy at up to 213% FPL.
• Children — Medi-Cal covers children up to 266% FPL across MAGI Medi-Cal and the Optional Targeted Low Income Children's Program; Medi-Cal Access Program covers middle-income pregnant women.
• Working Disabled Program (250% WDP) — working disabled adults can earn well above 138% FPL and keep Medi-Cal by paying small monthly premiums based on income.
• Medicare Savings Programs — QMB at 100% FPL, SLMB at 120% FPL, QI-1 at 135% FPL. Income and asset rules apply per category.

How to apply for Medi-Cal

DHCS lists four ways to apply for Medi-Cal: online, by phone, in person, or by mail. Most adults applying for the first time use BenefitsCal or Covered California online. Older adults applying for non-MAGI Medi-Cal usually apply through their county directly.

Apply online

• BenefitsCal — benefitscal.com, the state benefits portal. Apply for Medi-Cal, manage and renew your coverage, and apply for CalFresh and CalWORKs in the same application. BenefitsCal replaced separate county portals starting in 2022.
• Covered California — coveredca.com, the state health insurance marketplace. Apply for Medi-Cal here and, if you don't qualify, get screened for subsidized private plans without a separate application.

Apply by phone, in person, or by mail

Call your county's Medi-Cal office. DHCS maintains a county office directory at dhcs.ca.gov/Medi-Cal/Pages/county-office.aspx. You can also walk into a county social services office or download the Medi-Cal application (Form MC 210 for non-MAGI, or the Single Streamlined Application for MAGI) and mail it to your county.

Help with the application

Covered California Certified Enrollers and Navigators provide free in-person help. The Covered California service center (800-300-1506) walks applicants through eligibility screening and routes Medi-Cal-eligible applicants to county processing. Community-based organizations across the state also offer enrollment help, including in Spanish, Mandarin, Cantonese, Vietnamese, Korean, Tagalog, Armenian, and other threshold languages required by DHCS.

What happens after you apply

Counties have 45 days to make a decision for MAGI Medi-Cal applicants — 90 days for disability-based determinations. Coverage can be retroactive up to three months before the application date if you had qualifying medical bills during that window. Newborns are deemed eligible for two years after birth if the parent had Medi-Cal during pregnancy.

What Medi-Cal covers

Medi-Cal benefits are broad. The state has used a series of CalAIM (California Advancing and Innovating Medi-Cal) waivers since 2022 to add services beyond traditional medical care — housing supports, food and nutrition services, in-home recovery care, and care management for high-need members.

Medical benefits for adults (19–64)

• Doctor visits, hospital and clinic visits, outpatient surgery, specialist care, podiatry, allergy treatment, dialysis
• Emergency care: ambulance, ER, urgent care
• Up to a 100-day supply of many prescriptions through Medi-Cal Rx
• Full adult dental: exams, x-rays, cleanings, fillings, crowns, root canals, dentures, implants, emergency services
• Vision exams, eyeglasses, contact lenses
• Lab tests and imaging (x-ray, MRI, mammogram)
• Inpatient hospital care, anesthesiology, surgical services, organ and tissue transplants
• Mental health services and substance use disorder treatment
• Rehab: physical, speech, audiology, occupational therapy, acupuncture, cardiac and pulmonary rehab
• Non-emergency medical transportation (NEMT) and non-medical transportation (NMT) to covered appointments

Pregnancy and children

Pregnant members receive full adult benefits plus prenatal, delivery, postpartum, midwife, doula, and breastfeeding-education services. Newborns of Medi-Cal-covered parents are automatically eligible for two years. Children under 19 receive the full benefit set plus EPSDT (Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnostic, and Treatment) — a federal Medicaid mandate that covers any medically necessary service for a child, even if it isn't covered for adults.

Older adults and people with disabilities

Members who also have Medicare get Medi-Cal as wrap-around coverage. Long-term care benefits include skilled nursing facility care, in-home nursing, the In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) program for personal-care attendants, durable medical equipment (oxygen, hospital beds, wheelchairs), orthotics, prostheses, glucose monitors, insulin pumps, and BP cuffs. The asset test for non-MAGI Medi-Cal was eliminated as of January 1, 2024.

CalAIM community supports

Other state Medicaid pages