Does Your Child Qualify for Medi-Cal? 2026 Income and Age Limits

Your child qualifies for Medi-Cal in California if they are under 19, live in the state, and your household income is at or below 266% of the federal poverty level. For 2026, that means a family of four can earn up to $7,315 per month — about $87,780 per year — and still enroll their children for free.¹ Immigration status does not matter for children, and California no longer applies any asset test.² Families who earn a bit more may still qualify through a separate program that reaches household incomes of roughly $106,000 per year.

2026 Income Limits for Children’s Medi-Cal

Eligibility is calculated monthly, using 266% of the federal poverty guidelines published by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.³ If your household income falls at or below the figure for your family size, your child qualifies:¹

Household of 2: $4,799 per month ($57,563 per year)
Household of 3: $6,057 per month ($72,672 per year)
Household of 4: $7,315 per month ($87,780 per year)
Household of 5: $8,576 per month ($102,889 per year)
Household of 6: $9,835 per month ($117,998 per year)
Each additional person: add $1,261 per month ($15,109 per year)

The income figure Medi-Cal uses is your Modified Adjusted Gross Income, which comes from your federal tax return before standard or itemized deductions. Household size generally includes you, your spouse, and any dependents under 19 living with you. Parents, stepparents, and siblings in the same home count toward the total.

Savings, cars, a house, and other property do not factor in at all. Since January 1, 2024, California has fully eliminated asset limits for Medi-Cal. Only income is tested.⁴

Age, Residency, and Immigration

Your child must be under 19 and a California resident. There is no minimum length of residency; living in California now is enough.⁵

Immigration status does not disqualify a child. California provides full-scope Medi-Cal to every child from birth through age 18 regardless of citizenship or immigration status, and your child can be covered even if you as the parent are not eligible yourself.² Enrolling a child in Medi-Cal is not a “public charge” factor and will not affect a parent’s immigration case.

When Your Child Qualifies Above the Income Limit

Several categories of children qualify regardless of what the family earns.

Foster Youth and Former Foster Youth

Children in foster care get Medi-Cal automatically with no income or asset test. When a young person ages out at 18 or older, coverage continues until their 26th birthday, again with no income requirement, and the transition happens automatically — no new application is needed.⁶ This program also covers youth who were in foster care in another state and now live in California.⁷

Children Receiving SSI

If your child receives Supplemental Security Income, Medi-Cal comes with it automatically at no cost. No separate application is required, and coverage lasts as long as SSI does.

Children With Developmental Disabilities

Through a pathway called institutional deeming, a child with a qualifying developmental disability can be evaluated based only on the child’s own income and resources, not the family’s. Because most children have little or no income of their own, this often results in free, full-scope Medi-Cal even for families earning well above the standard limits. Your regional center can connect you with the county contact who handles the application.

C-CHIP: Income Between 266% and 322% of FPL

If your family earns too much for standard children’s Medi-Cal but within 322% of the federal poverty level, your child may qualify through the County Children’s Health Initiative Program. For a family of four in 2026, that reaches about $106,000 per year.⁸ C-CHIP provides full medical, dental, mental health, and vision benefits for $13 per child per month, capped at $39 per family.⁹

What It Costs and What It Covers

For families who qualify through the standard income rules, children’s Medi-Cal is free. No premium, no deductible, no copays.⁹ The C-CHIP charge above is the main exception.

Benefits for children are broader than for adults because of a federal requirement called Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnostic, and Treatment (EPSDT). If a service is medically necessary, Medi-Cal must cover it for a child under 21 — even services that would not be covered for an adult. That includes preventive and well-child care, doctor and hospital visits, dental and vision, hearing aids, mental health and substance use treatment, therapy services, and non-emergency medical transportation.¹⁰¹¹

How to Apply

You can apply four ways:¹²

Online through BenefitsCal.com or CoveredCA.com. A single Covered California application checks both Medi-Cal and subsidized marketplace coverage.
By phone with Covered California at (800) 300-1506.¹³
In person at your county human services office.
By mail to your county social services office.

Gather what you can before you start: birth certificates or other proof of identity, proof of California residency such as a utility bill or lease, recent pay stubs or tax returns, Social Security numbers if you have them, information on any existing insurance, and immigration documents if applicable. Self-employed parents should bring a Schedule C or a recent profit-and-loss statement.

Don’t delay applying because a document is missing. If you claim U.S. citizenship or eligible immigration status but can’t verify it right away, the state must give you a 90-day “reasonable opportunity period” to produce documentation, and your child receives coverage during that window.¹⁴

Standard applications are processed within 45 days. Applications involving a disability determination can take up to 90 days.¹⁵

Getting Care Before Your Application Is Approved

If your child needs care immediately, qualified healthcare providers can activate temporary Medi-Cal on the spot through Children’s Presumptive Eligibility. The provider does a quick household-income screen, and if your child appears to meet the standards, temporary coverage begins right away and lasts while your full application is pending.¹⁶ You still need to submit a regular application to continue coverage after that.

Medi-Cal can also cover bills your child incurred in the three months before you applied, if your child would have qualified during those months.¹⁷ Keep receipts and billing statements from any out-of-pocket medical costs in that window and ask the county about retroactive coverage once your child is approved.

Keeping Coverage After Approval

Once enrolled, your child has guaranteed coverage for 12 months, no matter how your income or household changes in between. This continuous eligibility rule applies to all children under 19.¹⁸ A raise or a new job will not interrupt coverage before the next annual renewal.

At renewal, the county first tries to re-verify eligibility automatically using tax and other data it already has. If that works, you’ll get a notice saying coverage renewed and no action is needed.¹⁹ If it doesn’t, the county mails a pre-filled form and you have at least 30 days to return it. Keep your mailing address current with the county. The most common way families lose coverage is a renewal form sent to an outdated address. If termination happens that way, returning the form within 90 days gets your child reinstated, but a gap in care is avoidable.

If the Application Is Denied or Coverage Is Cut

You can request a state fair hearing within 90 days of the date you receive a Notice of Action denying, reducing, or ending coverage. Filing later is possible if you have good cause, such as serious illness.²⁰

If your child is already enrolled and you request a hearing before the effective date on the notice, coverage continues while the appeal is decided. This is called “aid paid pending,” and it keeps your child’s doctor access intact during the dispute.²¹ If you win, nothing changes. If the county’s decision is upheld, the state can seek repayment for benefits paid during the appeal, though in practice that is uncommon in children’s cases.

1
Covered California. Program Eligibility by Federal Poverty Level for 2026
2
Department of Health Care Services. Medi-Cal Immigrant Eligibility FAQs
3
ASPE. 2026 Poverty Guidelines – 48 Contiguous States
4
Department of Health Care Services. Proposed Trailer Bill Legislation Reinstatement of the Medi-Cal Asset Limit Fact Sheet
5
Medicaid.gov. Medicaid, Children’s Health Insurance Program, and Basic Health Program Eligibility Levels
6
Department of Health Care Services. Frequently Asked Questions for the Former Foster Youth Program
7
Department of Health Care Services. Foster Youth May Automatically Get Free Health Care Until Age 26
8
DHCS. Income Eligibility Comparison Chart (2025)
9
Covered California. What Does Medi-Cal for Children Cost?
10
Department of Health Care Services. Medi-Cal Coverage for EPSDT
11
Medicaid.gov. EPSDT – A Guide for States: Coverage in the Medicaid Benefit for Children and Adolescents
12
Department of Health Care Services. Apply for Medi-Cal
13
Covered California. How Do I Apply for Medi-Cal?
14
Medicaid.gov. Implementation Guide: Citizenship and Non-Citizen Eligibility
15
Department of Health Care Services. How Do I Apply – Medi-Cal Comparison
16
Medi-Cal Providers. Children’s Presumptive Eligibility (CPE)
17
Medicaid.gov. Eligibility Policy
18
Medicaid.gov. Continuous Eligibility for Medicaid and CHIP Coverage
19
Medicaid.gov. Overview: Medicaid and CHIP Eligibility Renewals
20
Department of Health Care Services. Medi-Cal Fair Hearing
21
eCFR. 42 CFR Part 431 Subpart E – Fair Hearings for Applicants and Beneficiaries