California Medicaid income limit for long-term care (2026)
By Bennett Dixon, founder of MedicaidChecklist · Every figure cited to an official source · Last verified
For 2026, California's published income limit for long-term-care Medicaid — the coverage behind Medi-Cal Long-Term Care (LTC) and Medi-Cal Aged, Blind and Disabled / Medically Needy programs and Medi-Cal Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) waivers — is $1,836 per month for a single applicant.
2026 income limit (single applicant)
$1,836/mo
How the limit works here
California has no hard income cap for nursing-home (LTC) Medi-Cal: applicants over program income limits qualify as medically needy and pay nearly all monthly income to the facility as a share of cost. The $1,836/month figure is the 2026 Aged & Disabled Federal Poverty Level (A&D FPL) limit (138% FPL, effective 4/1/2026, per ACWDL 26-01), the threshold below which a person gets full Medi-Cal with zero share of cost. 2026 figures are published and used here.
Income over the limit: the published pathways
An application is not simply over when income is over the figure — California publishes what happens next. Whether and how a pathway applies to a specific family is a question for the agency or an elder-law attorney.
Share of cost (medically needy pathway) — no income cap for nursing home care
There is no income ceiling that disqualifies you from nursing-home Medi-Cal. Instead, if your income is above the limit, you pay a monthly 'share of cost' to the facility, calculated as your gross income minus health insurance premiums and a $35 personal needs allowance. Medi-Cal pays the rest of the nursing home bill. California does not use Miller Trusts.
official sourceHow this compares to other states
| State | Income limit (single applicant, monthly) | Year |
|---|---|---|
| California | $1,836/month | 2026 |
| Michigan | $2,982/month | 2026 |
| New York | $1,836/month | 2026 |
| Ohio | $2,982/month | 2026 |
| Pennsylvania | $2,982/month | 2026 |
| Texas | $2,982/month | 2026 |
Full table with context: Medicaid income limits by state.
The figures on this page are California's published 2026 rules, cited to the official source and last verified 2026-07-14. Eligibility decisions are made only by California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) — no checklist, calculator, or company can decide for it. Applying is always free through the state agency.
A note on limits of this page: whether and how any rule applies to a specific family is a question only the state agency — or an elder-law attorney — can answer. MedicaidChecklist publishes the rules and helps you prepare and organize the application; it does not give legal advice, and nothing here is a recommendation to move, transfer, or restructure money or property.
California guideCalifornia asset limitCalifornia look-back period
Sources
- Aged & Disabled FPL program income limit is $1,836/month for an individual (138% FPL) — dpss.lacounty.gov
- Long-Term Care Medi-Cal has no income limit; most of the applicant's income goes to pay the nursing facility; apply online at BenefitsCal, by phone, or in person — dpss.lacounty.gov
- Nursing facility residents keep a $35/month personal needs allowance ($62 if on SSI); share of cost = gross income minus health premiums minus $35 — canhr.org
- Nursing facility residents' share of cost equals all income above $35/month — www.disabilityrightsca.org
- 2026 federal spousal impoverishment standards: maximum community spouse resource standard $162,660, maximum monthly maintenance needs allowance $4,066.50, SSI federal benefit rate $994/month (CMS Informational Bulletin, December 9, 2025) — www.medicaid.gov
- MC 604 IPS (Additional Income and Property Information Needed for Medi-Cal) is used for non-MAGI eligibility determinations and replaces the MC 210 PS and MC 322 — my.dpss.lacounty.gov