---
title: "California Medi-Cal Look-Back Period | Funding LTC Marketplace"
url: https://fundingltcmarketplace.com/states/california/medi-cal-look-back-period/
description: "California uses a 30-month Medi-Cal look-back for long-term care, with a 2024–2025 transfer amnesty window. How the review period works in 2026."
last_updated: 2026-10-20
author: George A. Mellendorf, CLTC, LTCP (Central States Insurance Services, Inc.)
publisher: Funding LTC Marketplace
note: Educational content; not legal, tax or financial advice. Markdown copy of the HTML page at the URL above.
---
California · Look-Back & Penalties

# California Medi-Cal Look-Back Period

Last updated 2026-10-20

The Department of Health Care Services sets California's long-term-care transfer look-back at 30 months. For someone applying for LTC coverage for the first time, that period starts the month before the application; for a current Medi-Cal beneficiary who then needs LTC, it starts the month before admission — and the application month itself isn't counted (DHCS ACWDL 25-18).

That's a real departure worth flagging: federal law sets a 60-month look-back for transfers made after February 2006, and Florida follows that federal 60-month standard. Anyone comparing notes with a Florida plan should read California's look-back rules on their own terms rather than assuming the timelines match (42 U.S.C. § 1396p).

## California figures

- Look-back period: 30 months
- Federal standard look-back (for comparison): 60 months

## Sources and official resources

- [DHCS: Medi-Cal Changes (asset limits)](https://www.dhcs.ca.gov/medi-cal/updates/medi-cal-changes/)
- [U.S. Code: 42 U.S.C. § 1396p (liens, estate recovery, transfers of assets, Partnership disregard)](https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/42/1396p)

Rules and figures change. Confirm current details with the agency before you act.

[← Back to the full California guide](https://fundingltcmarketplace.com/states/california/)