California Medicaid Requirements

Medicaid helps provide long-term health coverage for at risk children, seniors and disabled people who are unable to pay for their own medical care. California's Medicaid program (Medi-Cal) helps these persons pay for physician visits, home health care, medical tests, nursing home care, medications, medical equipment and prescriptions. Recipients must meet strict guidelines designed to reduce the burden on the state's welfare system.

Types

• California Medicare provides medical coverage to individuals 65 years of age or older. Parents or caretakers can apply for the program for their dependent children as long as these children are under the age of 21. Pregnant women may also qualify for the program, as well as the blind and disabled. People who cannot afford nursing home care and those with refugee status can receive Medicare. In addition, the program offers coverage for women with cervical or breast cancer.

Apply

• Before they can receive benefits, California residents must apply for Medi-Cal. This involves filling out a four-page application and mailing it to a local County Welfare Office. After submitting an application, you must wait up to 45 days in order to have your application reviewed. People with disabilities may wait 90 days before a county worker reviews an application. If the state denies your request for Medi-Cal, you may appeal the decision at a state hearing.

Assets

• In order to qualify for Medi-Cal, California residents may not own more than $2,000 in liquid assets for an individual or $3,000 in assets for a couple. California excludes some hard assets from this calculation, which include a primary home, a single vehicle, personal belongings, life insurance policies under $1,500 per individual and a prepaid burial plan.

Limits

• As of 2010, the elderly and parents of older children cannot make more than 100 percent of the federal poverty level in order to qualify for California Medicare. Families that have a child under the age of 5 qualify if their income is below 133 percent of the federal poverty level. Pregnant women and families with an infant do not qualify for Medi-Cal if they make more than 200 percent of the poverty level. Qualified disabled individuals who are employed may be eligible for Medi-Cal benefits provided their income falls short of 200 percent of the federal poverty level.

Considerations

• The state of California requires all Medi-Cal applicants and recipients to be residents of the state. The state prohibits illegal immigrants from receiving Medicare benefits except in the case of medical emergency. The state offers transitional Medi-Cal benefits to families when the primary income earner increases their income beyond Medicare limits. These benefits last for 12 months.