When an elder needs Long-Term Care Medicaid in Florida, the government has established a number of financial qualification rules based upon the applicant's income and assets. We have a list of Florida Medicaid financial requirements on this webpage, which is updated semi-annually. The basics on Medicaid "spend-down" is that a single Medicaid applicant is only allowed $2,000 in countable assets while the community spouse (the spouse at home) is allowed to have some $148,620 in countable assets (2023). Only when the Medicaid applicant's income is below the applicable income and asset limits, and the applicant applies, will he or she become eligible for Medicaid.

Countable Assets for Long-Term Medicaid

Countable assets are assets that count towards the applicable limit outlined above. The list of countable assets includes:

  • All financial accounts (bank accounts, CDs, brokerage accounts, bonds, etc.)
  • Jointly held accounts (even if a co-owner is on the accounts, the asset is 100% countable to the applicant)
  • Cash value in life insurance policies (but only if the policy face value exceeds $2,500)
  • Second car under 7 years old 
  • Vacant land
  • Assets held in a revocable living trust

Non-countable Assets for Medicaid

Non-countable assets do not count towards the applicable Medicaid asset limit. Non-countable assets include:

  • Homestead property under $688,000 (2023) for a single person - unlimited for married couple
  • Any one car, regardless of value
  • Second car over 7 years old (unless a collector's car)
  • Irrevocable funeral/burial policies
  • Funeral plots
  • Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs) - in some cases
  • Personal property
  • Life insurance with face value less than $2,500 (regardless of cash value inside)
  • Burial account set aside with less than $2,500 

Medicaid Look-Back Period

When an elder is in the nursing home or just looking to apply for Medicaid, one very, very important rule is that you cannot give assets away with 5 years of a Medicaid application!  We have a great deal more on the Medicaid transfer penalty on this webpage. The key to Medicaid is that the family should not look to gift or transfer assets away in order to protect them - and we do not lie to the State of Florida in order to protect assets (a felony!).

Appropriate Medicaid Spend-Down Planning

Appropriate spend-down planning generally means legally spending money before Medicaid is applied for. An example of spend-down planning is as follows:

Sally, age 82, had a stroke and needs long-term care in the nursing home. Sally has a home worth less than $688,000 (2023), a car with an outstanding loan of $5,000, and only $10,000 in the bank (i.e., only $10,000 in countable assets). Here, the family can legally spend-down Sally's assets by paying off her car loan of $5,000 and purchasing a pre-paid, irrevocable funeral policy worth $3,000.  Sally's bank account will now have only $2,000 and she will now be eligible for long-term care Medicaid.

This is a simple example of spend-down planning but it shows the legal spending of a small amount of assets that could have been helpful to Sally and her family.

When you Need an Elder Law Attorney

We can generally say that an elder law attorney is necessary to the Medicaid application process when:

  • The applicant's countable assets exceed the bare minimum, such as the example above with Sally, to legally protect assets and then apply for Medicaid
  • Income exceeds the applicable income cap and a qualified income trust is needed
  • The family is confused and needs help in a difficult time. There is no such thing as an easy Medicaid application and getting help from a good elder law attorney can be helpful in all situations
  • The spouse at home (the "community spouse") wants or needs to keep more income than Florida allows
  • The family has care issues and concerns and does not know where to turn
  • We are looking to place the elder directly into a nursing home without placement in a hospital first (which Medicare pays for). When a patient enters long-term care, the nursing home will be reluctant to accept a patient "Medicaid pending" the family has an attorney who is doing the Medicaid application.

Ways to Pay for Long-Term Care

We have more on Medicaid, VA and other matters to consider to pay for long-term care on this blog post.

Protecting the Assets Before the 5 Year "Look-Back" Period

If you are not having health issues and want to protect assets before you get sick you may want to create an irrevocable asset protection trust. Please see our free guide to irrevocable asset protection trusts in Florida.

Personal Services Contracts and Medicaid

One legal way to protect assets in Florida is paying family members and other caregivers for help. This webpage highlights how personal services contracts work in Florida.

Medicaid Payback and the Medicaid Lien

Some people think that Medicaid planning cannot be done because the state of Florida has a lien upon assets upon death. This should not be a worry for most people!  You can learn more about the Medicaid lien at this blog post.

Can our Law Firm Help?

Yes!  We have done thousands of Medicaid applications over many years and we are glad to help you and your family in a difficult time. We charge $200 for an initial conference with attorney D. "Rep" DeLoach III, the person who wrote all of this great material you are now reading, to see if we can help.  In our first conference, we will review the elder's health, finances and legal documents to see what, if anything, needs to be done to help the elder, our client, get and pay for long-term care.

Download our Free Book on Medicaid Planning!

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