Medicaid is the federal program to assist the needy cope with extraordinary health care costs, such as long-term care. Health care providers all across the country give a wide range of services with Medicaid dollars. The Medicaid system is funded from both state and federal dollars. Florida runs the Medicaid program under guidelines provided by the Federal government as administered through the Department of Children and Families (“DCF”), where application is made for any benefits. Florida Medicaid helps the elderly, such as those that help paying for care in the nursing home, assisted living or for in-home care.
Medicaid has a good number of rules for applying if your assets are above the bare minimum. Here is our webpage on the Medicaid Income and Asset Guidelines that discusses more about the assets.
One important aspect to Medicaid is that the elder is not allowed to give away assets within 5 years of a Medicaid application. This is commonly known as the Medicaid "lookback" period. If money was given away, a transfer penalty was created. Here is our guide to calculating the Medicaid transfer penalty.
There are a lot of rules for accessing Medicaid, to say the least, and there is no such thing as an easy Medicaid application, even when the applicant's assets are at or below the asset limit. This is why elder law attorneys exist - to help our clients get good care while protecting the assets for their benefit. We have done hundreds of Medicaid applications for our clients over the many years of our practice. If you or your loved one is in the nursing home or assisted living, it is never too late to protect the assets. Also, if you do good planning, their is no Medicaid lien to consider.
If you want to learn more about Medicaid and asset protection planning, you are welcome to attend one of our free monthly educational seminars!
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