California eliminated the Medi-Cal asset test in 2024. It came back on January 1, 2026, at $130,000 for an individual applicant, following a state budget agreement.
That means roughly half the articles you will find on this subject are wrong, and they are wrong in both directions. Some still say $2,000. Some still say there is no asset test at all. Neither describes the rules you are living under now.
Where things stand
| Situation | Asset limit |
|---|---|
| Individual applicant | $130,000 |
| Institutionalized spouse | $130,000 |
| At-home spouse (community spouse resource allowance) | $157,920 |
| Primary residence | Exempt |
| One vehicle | Exempt |
Those figures are the current state of a rule that has moved twice in three years. Confirm them before you act on them, including here.
Be careful about transfers right now
Guidance on how transfers made during the no-asset-test window will be treated is still settling. Moving money out of a parent's name in a hurry, on the strength of something you read, is the way people create the problem they were trying to avoid.
What Medi-Cal actually pays for
Skilled nursing care, primarily. It does not generally pay for assisted living or for the kind of custodial help most families are actually looking for when they call. That distinction disappoints a lot of people on the first call and it is better to hear it early.
Estate recovery, and why a trust matters here
Since 2017 California recovers only against assets that pass through the probate estate. Property held in a properly funded living trust generally falls outside that. There is also no recovery where a spouse survives.
So the same document that keeps the house out of probate court tends to keep it out of the state's recovery claim. That is a genuine planning point rather than a scare tactic.
“The calls I get are almost never from the person who needs care. They are from a daughter, usually on a break at work, who has just been told her father is being discharged Friday and needs a plan by Thursday.”
Delia Vasquez-HartQuestions we get asked
Is the house safe?
The primary residence is an exempt asset for eligibility purposes. What happens to it afterward is the estate recovery question, and that turns on how it is titled.
Can I just give everything to my kids?
Please do not do this before talking to someone. Transfers can create eligibility problems, and there are capital gains consequences that frequently cost the family more than the care would have.
Does long-term care insurance change the analysis?
Yes, substantially, and if a policy exists we want to see it before doing anything else.
How fast can this move?
Faster than people expect, if the facts are simple. We have done applications inside two weeks. Complicated asset pictures take longer.
Start here
Write down what is in whose name, including account titling and anyone listed as a joint owner. Titling drives almost every answer in this area.