2025 Application for Medicaid in the United States California Medicaid, Medicare: Comparison of eligibility criteria and benefits

Basic Introduction: Medicare vs. Medicaid

Compare Projects	Medicare	Medicaid (California Medicaid is called Medi-Cal)
Supervisory unit	Federal Government	State Government
Applicant	SSA Social Security Administration	State health and social welfare departments
Object	Elderly persons aged 65 and above, persons with disabilities of any age or patients with end-stage renal disease	Low income/asset, pregnant women, and children
Application status	Citizen or green card holder, has lived in the U.S. for 5 years	Citizens or green card holders, some white card benefits have no status restrictions
Program Fees	Monthly fee required	Free or low-cost

In-depth introduction: Medi-Cal 

California’s Medi-Cal is a medical assistance program (it can also cover dental care since 2014), mainly targeting low-income households. If you want to help new immigrant parents apply for insurance, you can consider whether Medi-Cal is eligible. You need to review income and assets, etc. Note: Medi-Cal application conditions and qualifications vary from state to state. This article only uses California Medi-Cal as an example. For other states, please go to the relevant state government departments to search.

There are actually different types of medical white cards, and you can apply as long as you meet any of the categories.

The most common types of Medi-Cal and their application requirements are as follows:

(I) Income limit: for applicants aged 19-64: total household income is less than 138% of the federal poverty line (see here for detailed amounts )

(2) Asset restrictions for people over 65 years old, the blind or people with disabilities: Starting from January 1, 2024, the asset restrictions for people over 65 years old, the blind or people with disabilities have been completely lifted, and they no longer need to report asset-related information when applying.