California Expands Medi-Cal to All Eligible Adults 50 Years of Age and Older

SACRAMENTO – Starting on May 1, Medi-Cal, California’s health coverage program for low-income individuals and families, is extending eligibility for full coverage to more than 185,000 individuals who are 50 years of age or older, regardless of immigration status.

Gov. Newsom last year signed legislation making California the first state in the nation to expand full-scope Medi-Cal eligibility to low-income adults 50 years of age or older, regardless of immigration status. Subject to legislative approval, Gov. Newsom has this year proposed expanding Medi-Cal to all eligible residents, regardless of age or immigration status.

The expansion population includes individuals 50 years of age or older who are eligible for Medi-Cal, who do not have satisfactory immigration status or are unable to establish satisfactory immigration status for full-scope Medi-Cal and are not yet enrolled in Medi-Cal. It also includes individuals 50 years of age or older who are currently enrolled in restricted scope Medi-Cal.

Individuals ages 50 and over, regardless of their immigration status, who have not applied for Medi-Cal can apply here as of May 1: https://www.dhcs.ca.gov/services/medi-cal/pages/applyformedi-cal.aspx 

The next step in California’s coverage expansion, subject to legislative approval, is outlined in the Governor’s 2022-23 budget, which proposes to expand Medi-Cal coverage to an estimated 700,000-plus adults ages 26 through 49 without satisfactory immigration status, effective no sooner than January 1, 2024. Extending Medi-Cal to hundreds of thousands more is an important step to help close health equity gaps in the state, getting closer to universal coverage.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services do not consider health, food, and housing services as part of the public charge determination. Therefore, using Medi-Cal benefits (except for nursing home or mental health institution care) will not hurt an individual’s immigration status. When someone applies for state-funded benefits, their information is only used to determine if they qualify. State laws protect the privacy of their information.