Medicaid work rule · California · checked 2026-10-20
Medicaid work requirement in California: what applies to you in 2027
Starting no later than January 2027, most adults 19 to 64 on Medicaid expansion must show 80 hours a month of work, school, volunteering or a work program, or $580 of income, unless the rule does not apply to them. Below is what California has published about how it will check, with a link to each source. California decides; this page only explains.
What California has published
- When it starts
- 2027-01-01. No soft launch published. Equifax data for work-requirement verification starts January 2027; Truv phase 1 (work-requirement income/hours) starts January 2027.Sources: 1 2 3 (California's own pages, listed below) · checked 2026-10-20
- How many months it looks back
- Application: 1 month (the month before applying; ACWDL 26-18 example uses December as the look-back month for a January application). Renewal: at least 1 month since the last renewal (DHCS implementation webinar, 2026-02-05).Sources: 1 2 3 (California's own pages, listed below) · checked 2026-10-20
- How often you renew
- Every 6 months for the MAGI New Adult Group (ACWDL 26-14 / DHCS webinar).Sources: 1 2 3 (California's own pages, listed below) · checked 2026-10-20
- How it checks medical frailty
- Ex parte using data (DHCS webinar 2026-02-05): all claims and encounters (PACES, CA-MMIS, Medi-Cal Rx), Short-Doyle Medi-Cal, and enrollment in programs such as HCBS waivers, CBAS, CCS, PACE, Enhanced Care Management and Community Supports where those align with frailty criteria. DHCS is evaluating ICD-10/CPT codes and MCP care-management data. No published condition list and no stated CMS 3-tier adoption.Sources: 1 2 3 (California's own pages, listed below) · checked 2026-10-20
In California's own words
“Starting January 1, 2027, some adults will need to work, volunteer, go to school, or be in training to get to keep their Medi-Cal.”dhcs.ca.gov
“Since the income was e-verified, the applicant's WCER compliance for the look back month (December) is also met.”dhcs.ca.gov
“Comprehensive guidance specific to the Medi-Cal WCER for the New Adult group will be released in a future letter.”dhcs.ca.gov
Not published yet
California has not said this yet on the pages checked. Ask your Medicaid office, and keep copies of what you send.
- Whether your own word counts in 2027: not published as of 2026-10-20 for the work requirement. ACWDL 26-18 (2026-09-21) covers income verification through reasonable compatibility of self-attested income with Equifax/Truv, and defers full work-requirement rules to a future ACWDL. In its student example the applicant 'submits verification' of full-time enrollment.
- whether your own word counts in 2027 for the work requirement (pending a future WCER ACWDL)
- final medical frailty code list
Sources
California's own Medicaid pages, read on 2026-10-20. The federal rule behind every state is in rules.json, with its own sources.