Written by a parent, not a doctor. Nothing here is medical advice.

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California program

County child coverage above Medi-Cal (CCHIP)

Extra child health coverage above the regular Medi-Cal income range in San Francisco, San Mateo and Santa Clara counties.

What it is

Extra child health coverage above the regular Medi-Cal income range in San Francisco, San Mateo and Santa Clara counties.

CCHIP may help if your income is above the regular child Medi-Cal range in one of these counties. Having work insurance, or an offer of it, can prevent your child from qualifying. The enrollment team checks those rules and what you would pay for care.

Who can get it
  • The child must live in San Francisco, San Mateo or Santa Clara County.
  • The income band is above 266% through 322% of poverty. The 2026 upper limit for four people is $8,855 monthly.
  • Your child must be under 19. CCHIP checks immigration eligibility, existing insurance and any available employer coverage. Santa Clara’s published rule requires an uninsured child without employer coverage available. Ask the CCHIP enrollment team at 833-912-2447 to confirm your county’s rule and current costs.
If work insurance is available
  • Santa Clara’s published rule requires an uninsured child without employer coverage available. The enrollment service must confirm your county’s rules before any coverage change.
Before any coverage change
  • The county’s current insurance rule and the new plan’s cancer-team access need checking before work coverage changes.
What you get
  • No monthly premium, with copays for some care.
  • Child health coverage through a Medi-Cal health plan.
If you decide to apply
  1. Ask the hospital financial counselor for help with the Medi-Cal or Covered California application and a CCHIP referral. The CCHIP enrollment team handles enrollment and case management; the county can help with the referral.
  2. Have ready: proof of your county address, household income and any work-plan offer letter or insurance card.

1-833-912-2447 · Official page ↗

What happens next
  • CCHIP/MAXIMUS handles enrollment and case management. Ask that team for the decision, plan name and coverage start date.
  • Ask the enrollment team or county to check the referral, expected decision date and any income, insurance or immigration-eligibility issue.
Good to know

An offer of work insurance can affect CCHIP eligibility. The program must confirm eligibility and the cancer team’s participation before any coverage change.

What else to know
  • The premium has been $0 since July 1, 2022. Your social worker can help obtain the current plan’s written copay rules.
  • The county office can check an existing work plan before any coverage change.

California also uses federal CHIP funding for Medi-Cal child coverage statewide. This card describes only the additional three-county CCHIP coverage band.

Official sources
Ask your social worker

“Could our child qualify for CCHIP in our county, and would any work-insurance offer affect that? What would we pay for care, and would you help us compare it before deciding whether to apply?”

Why I’m asking: I want to know whether our county has another child-coverage option if Medi-Cal income rules do not fit.

More background and detailed requirements
Additional program information and published rules

Who does what

The three parts, side by side. The agency decides; nobody on this page does.

You

File the Medi-Cal application, tick the county, and ask for county child coverage review. Call the county child coverage line about the employer-plan rule before you change anything.

Your social worker

The social worker can confirm which of the three counties applies and that the application was flagged for county child coverage.

The care team

Records and letters when the application asks for them.

Who decides
The county child coverage office, through MAXIMUS, reviews the Medi-Cal application.
Ask your social worker
“Can you check our county and income for county child coverage? Please ask how our work-plan offer or coverage affects the application.”

How to apply

First step: File the same application as Medi-Cal at BenefitsCal.com and ask for county child coverage review. Call the county child coverage line, 1-833-912-2447, to confirm the employer-plan rule.

  1. File the Medi-Cal application and ask for CCHIP review.
  2. Call 1-833-912-2447 to confirm the employer-plan rule before changing coverage.

Where it starts: Same application as Medi-Cal (BenefitsCal or Covered California), ask for CCHIP review

What to gather

  • Proof of address in the county
  • Household income
  • Any work-plan offer letter or card

How long: CCHIP/MAXIMUS enrollment services can confirm the processing status and expected decision date. The county can help resolve an application referral.

What a yes looks like

The CCHIP enrollment service confirms approval, the health plan and the coverage start date. The monthly premium is $0; the service confirms the current cost-sharing schedule.

What a no looks like, and the next move

A notice naming the county, income or insurance rule. Ask which one, and go to CCS and the hospital's financial-assistance policy without waiting.

Watch out

  • Only these three counties. The same income anywhere else in California has no county child coverage.
  • Santa Clara’s published rule requires an uninsured child without employer coverage available. The enrollment service at 833-912-2447 confirms the county rule before any coverage change.
  • A $0 premium is not proof of $0 for everything. Ask for the current copay list.

The numbers and the rules

The arcane layer, kept on purpose. Checked September 8, 2026.

What it is worth

Additional child coverage above 266% through 322% of poverty in three counties, with a $0 monthly premium. CCHIP enrollment confirms other cost sharing and insurance requirements.

  • $322 — Upper income ceiling
  • $8,855/month — Family of 4 upper monthly ceiling
  • $0/month — Monthly premium

Covers: Child health coverage through a Medi-Cal managed-care plan

What it costs the family: $0 monthly premium since July 1, 2022. CCHIP enrollment confirms the current copay schedule and any annual cap for the county and plan.

The eligibility facts, as published

Counties
San Francisco; San Mateo; Santa Clara
Age
under 19
Income band
above 266% through 322% FPL
Employer offer rule
Santa Clara published rule requires an uninsured child without employer-sponsored coverage available; CCHIP enrollment confirms the applicable county rule.

Decisions this site cannot make: County program eligibility

Expect friction on: County restriction · Employer-offer rule to confirm by phone

The trap: Santa Clara’s published rule requires an uninsured child without employer coverage available. CCHIP enrollment confirms the county rule before any work-plan change.

Where I read this

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