Can you get Medi-Cal while on California EDD unemployment benefits?

Wait so my $520/week benefit might actually put me over the Medi-Cal limit? That's like $27k if I get it the full year. Does it matter that I won't actually be on unemployment for a full year hopefully?

They calculate based on your current monthly income, not projected annual. So if you're getting $520/week that's roughly $2,250/month which would likely put you just over the Medi-Cal limit for a single person but you'd almost certainly qualify for heavily subsidized Covered California plans. Still way cheaper than COBRA.

this is really helpful i'm in same situation and had no idea covered california was even an option during unemployment

Oh that's super important, I didn't realize I had a time limit on this. My coverage technically ended last week so I need to move fast.

Confirming this is correct - losing employer coverage triggers a Special Enrollment Period for Covered California. 60 days is the window. Don't miss it because then you'd have to wait until open enrollment or qualify for Medi-Cal based on income.

i missed my 60 day window once and it was awful had to go months without insurance. don't let that happen to you OP

$47/month compared to $680 COBRA?? That's insane. I'm going to the Covered California website today. Thank you for sharing this.

similar experience here, covered california subsidies are massive when you're on unemployment income. the ACA premium tax credits are calculated on projected annual income so being on unemployment for part of the year actually helps your subsidy amount

Just make sure you report any income changes to Covered California throughout the year. When you find a new job and your income goes up you need to update it or you might owe money back at tax time.

Ugh I've been having the same problem trying to reach EDD about my claim status. I'll check out that Claimyr thing, I really need to talk to someone about my adjudication too.

claimyr works? i've been trying to call edd for days and keep getting the 'we cannot take your call' message

Yeah it actually got me through to a live agent. I know it sounds too good to be true but it worked for me when nothing else did.

gonna bookmark this for when I inevitably can't get through to EDD lol

This is really helpful context. I kept thinking EDD would know the answer to my Medi-Cal question but I guess they're totally separate.

Correct - and this is why calling EDD about Medi-Cal is pointless. They literally don't have that information. Covered California or your county DPSS office are your resources for this.

Not a dumb question! No, Medi-Cal has zero effect on your EDD unemployment benefits. They're completely independent programs. Getting Medi-Cal won't reduce your weekly benefit amount, won't affect your eligibility for UI, nothing. You can have both simultaneously.

ok good that's what i thought but wanted to make sure. thanks

OK so I should try to estimate realistically what I'll make this whole year total, not just what I'm getting from EDD right now?

Exactly. Add up your EDD benefit income you expect to receive plus any earnings from future employment this year. If you genuinely don't know, that's OK - Covered California knows people's situations change and has a process for updating income mid-year. The important thing is to enroll and update when things change.

I messed this up my first year on Covered California. Had to repay like $800 at tax time because I ended up earning more than I projected. Not the end of the world but definitely annoying.

Yes California did expand full-scope Medi-Cal to all income-eligible adults regardless of immigration status in 2024. The income thresholds themselves are based on the Federal Poverty Level and do adjust slightly each year. For 2025 a single adult qualifies for Medi-Cal up to 138% of FPL which is approximately $20,783 annually. Above that you move to Covered California with subsidies available up to 400% FPL.

Thanks for clarifying! So OP's situation with $520/week benefit is likely going to land them in the Covered California subsidy zone as others said.

Good to know, I'll make sure I report when I start a new job. Does EDD also need to know when I stop collecting benefits if I get a job?

Yes absolutely - you report any wages earned on your weekly EDD certification even for partial weeks. When you start a full time job you'd stop certifying for benefits. EDD and Covered California/Medi-Cal are separate notifications though - you'd need to update both systems independently.

This is really important advice. I forgot to cancel Medi-Cal when I got a new job and it became a whole mess to sort out. Just update everything right away when your situation changes.

Apply right now! You may still be within your 60-day special enrollment window from losing your job coverage. Go to coveredca.com and run the numbers. Even if your 60-day window closed you might qualify for Medi-Cal based on current income which has no enrollment window restrictions.

I think I'm past 60 days unfortunately. Would I still qualify for Medi-Cal?

Medi-Cal you can apply any time of year, there's no enrollment window. If your current monthly income is low enough you can get it starting basically immediately. Apply through coveredca.com or your county social services office.

Yeah I'm realizing EDD can't answer this question. But I do still need to talk to EDD about my actual claim - it's been showing pending for almost 3 weeks. Going to try Claimyr.

Three weeks pending is worth calling about for sure. Hope your claim gets sorted quickly.

Three weeks in adjudication isn't unusual but definitely worth a call to see if there's something that needs to be resolved. Sometimes there's an issue they need to notify you about but the notice is slow.

Covered California is the state's health insurance marketplace - it's a website where you shop for private insurance plans and get subsidies based on your income. Medi-Cal is the state's free public health insurance program for low-income residents (California's version of Medicaid). Covered California is how you apply for BOTH - the website determines which you qualify for based on your income. If your income is low enough you get free Medi-Cal, if it's higher you get subsidized private insurance through Covered California.

ohhh that makes so much more sense now. so covered california is like the front door and then it routes you to the right program. got it thank you

Oh good point - I do have a small amount of savings interest income. I'll make sure to include that.

Investment income, interest, freelance, gig work - all of it counts for Covered California and Medi-Cal income calculations. Good catch to flag this.

Yeah it's all the small stuff that gets people. Better to slightly overestimate than underestimate and owe money back.

Fair point but for most people on unemployment the subsidy amounts through Covered California are actually quite substantial. The ACA subsidy formula caps your premium at a percentage of your income so it's usually manageable. But yes county programs exist as a backup and worth knowing about.

I'm in Sacramento County - do you know if there's anything like that there?

Sacramento County has a program called SASH (Sliding Scale) and there's also HWAC depending on your situation. Google 'Sacramento County low income health programs' - but honestly try Covered California first since you likely qualify for good subsidies given your current income from EDD benefits alone.

My claim has been pending for 21 days now and I still can't get through to EDD. Going to try Claimyr today. Thanks for the reminder.

21 days pending definitely warrants a call. Good luck getting through.

Oh good reminder. I've been keeping my job search log and certifying every two weeks. I definitely don't want to lose my EDD benefits on top of everything else.

The 3 employer contacts per week requirement is important. Make sure you're documenting them properly in your CalJOBS account and on your EDD weekly certification. A lot of people miss this.

wait you have to log job searches in CalJOBS separately from the EDD certification? i've been doing weekly certifications but not using caljobs at all

CalJOBS registration is required and you're supposed to be using it for your job search record. Go to caljobs.ca.gov and register if you haven't already. EDD can ask for your job search records at any time.

Completely agree. COBRA is almost never the right choice for most people who get laid off. The only exception is if you're mid-treatment for something and need to keep your exact same network/plan without any gap. Otherwise Covered California is almost always going to be way cheaper.

yeah even my doctor told me to not bother with COBRA lol

Yes! Update: I went to coveredca.com and based on my projected income this year (mostly EDD benefits plus maybe a few months of work if I find something) I qualified for a Silver plan with about $490/month in subsidies. My actual premium is going to be around $65/month. And I finally got through to EDD about my claim pending issue using Claimyr - turns out there was just an identity verification step I needed to complete that nobody told me about. Claim is now moving forward. Things are finally looking up!

This is so helpful, thank you for updating! $65/month is incredible. I'm going to apply as soon as I file my EDD claim. Congrats on getting your claim unstuck too.

Great outcome OP! This thread will definitely help others searching for the same questions. The short version: yes you can get Medi-Cal or Covered California while on unemployment, apply through coveredca.com, and it's almost always way better than COBRA.