Yes — Florida Medicaid is the primary way most families in Florida pay for a long nursing-home stay. Medicare only covers short, skilled rehabilitation stays, and private long-term-care insurance is uncommon, so when a stay becomes long-term, Medicaid is usually where families turn. But Florida Medicaid is means-tested, and the rules blend federal law with Florida-specific details. This is the map, not legal advice — confirm every current figure with the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) and the Department of Children and Families (DCF).
Does Florida Medicaid cover nursing-home care?
Florida Medicaid covers medically necessary nursing-facility care for people who meet both a financial test and a functional (level-of-care) test — meaning the person genuinely needs the level of help a nursing home provides. A separate nurse assessment usually confirms that need. Once approved, the resident contributes most of their monthly income toward the cost (the "patient pay amount" or "share of cost"), and Medicaid covers the rest at facilities that accept it.
Income and asset limits in Florida (2026)
- Income limit: $2,982 per month for a single applicant to the Institutional Care Program.
- Asset limit: $2,000 for a single applicant, $3,000 for a couple.
- Personal Needs Allowance: $160 per month — noticeably more than Texas ($75) or New York ($50), and it is the resident's own money for clothing, haircuts and phone.
- Exempt assets do not count: the homestead within the state equity limit, one vehicle, household goods and personal belongings, and certain prepaid burial arrangements.
If income is over the limit: the Qualified Income Trust
Florida applies an income cap, and this is the step generic Medicaid guides omit. If monthly income exceeds $2,982, the remedy is a Qualified Income Trust (a Miller Trust): the excess is deposited into the trust each month and stops counting toward eligibility.
It is routine and legal — but it must be established and funded before eligibility starts, and it cannot be backdated. Families who discover this after a hospital discharge lose weeks. If income is anywhere near the cap, set the trust up before you begin touring homes.
For a married couple, the community spouse can retain up to $162,660, with a monthly maintenance needs allowance starting at $2,705 (in force to 30 June 2026) and rising to as much as $4,067 where shelter costs justify it. Confirm current figures with the Agency for Health Care Administration, which runs Statewide Medicaid Managed Care Long-Term Care.
The five-year look-back
When you apply, Medicaid reviews asset transfers made in the 60 months beforehand. Gifting money or property — or selling it for less than fair value — to qualify faster can trigger a penalty period during which Medicaid will not pay. This is the single most common and most expensive mistake families make. Before moving, retitling, or gifting anything, it is worth a conversation with an elder-law attorney or an accredited Medicaid planner, especially for larger estates.
Protecting a spouse
If one spouse needs care and the other stays at home, federal spousal-impoverishment rules protect the at-home spouse. The Community Spouse Resource Allowance (CSRA) lets them keep a protected share of the couple’s combined assets, and the Minimum Monthly Maintenance Needs Allowance (MMMNA) can shift income to them if theirs is low. No one should have to "go broke" to get a spouse the care they need — these protections exist precisely to prevent that.
Sorting out eligibility is a job for a caseworker or elder-law attorney — but finding a quality facility that accepts Medicaid while that’s underway is where we can help; See how Curalune Care Help works
Estate recovery
After a Medicaid recipient dies, states are required to seek repayment from the estate for long-term-care costs paid — the Florida Medicaid Estate Recovery Program. In practice this most often affects the home. There are exceptions and hardship waivers (for a surviving spouse, a disabled child, or a caregiver child who lived in the home), so this is another area to raise with the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) and the Department of Children and Families (DCF) or an attorney rather than assume the worst.
Staying home instead: the Statewide Medicaid Managed Care Long-Term Care (SMMC LTC) program
Nursing-home Medicaid is not the only option. Florida also offers home- and community-based services through the Statewide Medicaid Managed Care Long-Term Care (SMMC LTC) program, which can fund in-home aides, adult day care and assisted-living support for people who qualify for a nursing-home level of care but want to stay in the community. Waiver slots can be limited, so it is worth asking about waitlists early.
Ready-to-send message
Hello,
we’re starting a Florida Medicaid long-term-care application for a parent entering a nursing home in Florida.
Want a clear shortlist before you start calling?
If you don't know which nursing homes to contact first, Curalune Care Help can prepare an ordered shortlist of 3 to 5 suitable options — with contacts, useful links and a ready-to-send message you can put to all of them at once.
The service helps you organise the search. $89, one-off. If you don't receive at least 3 homes matching the area and criteria you gave us, we refund you in full. It does not replace the home's own assessment and does not guarantee admission, price or bed availability.
Important limit
Curalune offers practical help with the search and orientation. Admission, pricing, bed availability and the final assessment always rest with the nursing homes and the competent authorities (your state Medicaid agency, the state survey agency and Medicare).