My Medi-Cal stopped while I was incarcerated. How do I restart it?

It depends on when you first became incarcerated, and when your release date is/was. California law on this has recently changed, and different rules started to apply on January 1, 2014.[1586]

The old rule: If you were incarcerated before January 1, 2014: If you were on Medi-Cal prior to your incarceration, then your Medi-Cal was ended on the day that you entered jail or prison. This means if you wanted to get Medi-Cal again, you had to reapply, get approved, and wait until your release before you could receive health care coverage through Medi-Cal.

The new rule: If you were incarcerated anytime after January 1, 2014: If you were on Medi-Cal prior to your incarceration, then your Medi-Cal got automatically suspended (paused) on the day that you entered jail or prison. The suspension period is set to last 1 year. This means that:

    If you’re released before 1 year passes, AND you continue to meet all other eligibility requirements, your Medi-Cal should automatically restart on the day of your release (and you don’t need to reapply).[1587]
    If you’re still incarcerated after 1 year passes, then your Medi-Cal coverage will end—and if you want to get Medi-Cal again, you’ll need to reapply to restart your coverage after your release.[1588]

If you qualified for Medi-Cal through SSI, you may need to restart your SSI benefits (see PG. 489) before you can get your Medi-Cal coverage back.[1589]

  1. 1586

    AB 720, Statutes of 2013, Chapter 646; Penal Code § 4011.11; Cal. Welf. & Inst. Code § 14011.10; see also ACWDL 13-18: Medi-Cal and Related Programs for State & County Inmates, Cal. Health & Human Servs. Agency Dep’t of Health Care Servs., http://www.dhcs.ca.gov/services/medi-cal/eligibility/Documents/13-18.pdf; ACWDL 14-24: State Inmate Pre-Release Medi-Cal Application Process, http://www.dhcs.ca.gov/services/medi-cal/eligibility/Documents/ACWDL2014/14-24.pdf; ACWDL 14-26: Implementation of AB 720—Suspension of Medi-Cal Benefits for all Inmates & Other Requirements, Cal. Health & Human Servs. Agency Dep’t of Health Care Servs. http://www.dhcs.ca.gov/services/medi-cal/eligibility/Documents/ACWDL2014/14-26.pdf. ↑

  2. 1587

    But if you become ineligible for some reason before 1 year passes (for example: your income increases beyond the limit allowed for Medi-Cal), your Medi-Cal may be terminated (ended) while you’re incarcerated. ↑

  3. 1588

    AB 720, Statutes of 2013, Chapter 646; Cal. Penal Code § 4011.11; Cal. Welf. & Inst. Code § 14011.10; see also: ACWDL 13-18: Medi-Cal & Related Programs for State & County Inmates, Cal. Health & Human Servs. Agency Dep’t of Health Care Servs., http://www.dhcs.ca.gov/services/medi-cal/eligibility/Documents/13-18.pdf; ACWDL 14-24: State Inmate Pre-Release Medi-Cal Application Process, Cal. Health & Human Servs. Agency Dep’t of Health Care Servs., http://www.dhcs.ca.gov/services/medi-cal/eligibility/Documents/ACWDL2014/14-24.pdf; ACWDL 14-26: Implementation of AB 720—Suspension of Medi-Cal Benefits for all Inmates & Other Requirements, Cal. Health & Human Servs. Agency Dep’t of Health Care Servs.

    http://www.dhcs.ca.gov/services/medi-cal/eligibility/Documents/ACWDL2014/14-26.pdf. ↑

  4. 1589

    A Manual on SSI/SSDI for Prisoners & Their Advocates (2004), Legal Servs. for Prisoners with Children, www.prisonlegalnews.org/media/publications/manual_on_social_security_beneits_for_prisoners.pdf; ↑