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Jump to All Downloads & LinksMedi-Cal Explained
This publication is part of CHCF’s Medi-Cal Explained series. The series provides an overview of the program, including the people it serves, the services it provides, and how it is organized, managed, and financed.
Medi-Cal, California’s Medicaid program, is the state’s health insurance program for Californians with low incomes, including 40% of all children, half of all people with disabilities, over a million seniors, and nearly four million adults. It also pays for more than 50% of all births in the state and 58% of all patient days in long-term care facilities. In total, 13 million, or one in three, Californians rely on the program for health coverage. Medi-Cal pays for essential primary, specialty, acute, behavioral health, and long-term care services.
This fact sheet provides a high-level overview of the eligibility determination and enrollment process for the Medi-Cal program, including:
- Which populations are eligible under the Medicaid eligibility groups
- How eligibility is determined based on individual and household circumstances
- How beneficiaries are enrolled in Medi-Cal managed care plans
- Ways in which Medi-Cal has streamlined the enrollment process (“No Wrong Door”) and expanded coverage
