Florida Medicaid long-term care, explained

How does Florida Medicaid pay for long-term care?

Florida delivers Medicaid long-term care through the Statewide Medicaid Managed Care Long-Term Care program (SMMC LTC): enrollees choose a managed care plan that pays for nursing home care or for home and community-based services, including services in assisted living facilities and adult family care homes.

To qualify, a person must be 65 or older (or 18 and older with a disability), meet nursing facility level of care, and be financially eligible for Medicaid through the Department of Children and Families. Choice counselors at 1-877-711-3662 explain which plans serve each county.

What are Florida's 2026 Medicaid income and asset limits for long-term care?

For the Institutional Care Program and home and community-based services, DCF's April 2026 standards set the income limit at $2,982 a month for an individual (300 percent of the $994 SSI rate) and the asset limit at $2,000; for a couple both applying, the limits are $5,964 and $3,000.

Source: Florida DCF transmittal I-26-02-0003 (Feb. 24, 2026), Appendix A-7, SSI-Related Medicaid Financial Eligibility Standards, April 2026.

Florida is an income-cap state: a person whose income is over $2,982 can still qualify by putting the excess into a qualified income trust each month. The home is generally exempt up to $752,000 of equity when the applicant intends to return or a spouse lives there.

Is there a wait list for Florida Medicaid long-term care in Sarasota and Manatee?

For home and community-based services, usually yes: people who are not yet enrolled are screened by their Aging and Disability Resource Center, placed on a wait list ranked by need, and released as funding allows; nursing home Medicaid for a person who is already a nursing home resident does not use that wait list.

Manatee County residents call Senior Connection Center (1-800-336-2226); Sarasota County residents call the Area Agency on Aging for Southwest Florida (1-866-413-5337). Ask to be screened early, because the date of screening and your parent's priority score both matter.

Does Florida Medicaid pay for assisted living?

Medicaid long-term care plans can pay for assisted living services, such as personal care and medication help, in facilities that contract with the plan, but not for room and board, which the resident pays from income; for these residents the personal needs allowance is room and board plus 20 percent of the federal poverty level, $266 for an individual in 2026.

AHCA profiles show 50 ALFs in Sarasota and Manatee counties listing Medicaid services (18 list the assisted living waiver program, 34 list assistive care services). Not every facility contracts with every plan, so confirm both the facility and the plan before a move.

How much income can a Florida nursing home resident on Medicaid keep?

A nursing home resident on Medicaid keeps a personal needs allowance of $160 a month under DCF's 2026 standards; most of the rest of the resident's income goes toward the cost of care as the patient responsibility.

A spouse living at home may keep income up to the maintenance allowance and assets up to $162,660 under the spousal impoverishment rules. See spousal rules and qualified income trusts.