Florida Medicaid Guide
Medicaid for Assisted Living and Home Care in Florida (SMMC Long-Term Care)
Florida Medicaid pays for assisted living and in-home care through the Statewide Medicaid Managed Care Long-Term Care program (SMMC LTC), not through nursing home Medicaid. The financial rules are the same: $2,982 a month in income and $2,000 in countable assets. The medical rule is the same too: the person must need a nursing-home level of care. The differences are that enrollment starts with a screening through the local Aging and Disability Resource Center, that there is a wait list ranked by need, and that the program pays for care services but not for the assisted living facility's room and board.
Last reviewed September 6, 2026 by Senior Care Resources. Figures shown are the ones Florida applies as of that date.
How the program works
Florida contracts with managed care plans to deliver long-term care services to people who qualify medically for a nursing home but can be cared for in an assisted living facility, an adult family care home, or their own home. Services include personal care, homemaker help, adult day care, respite, medical equipment, home modifications, and, in an assisted living facility, the care component of the monthly charge.
The applicant chooses a plan, and the plan's care manager arranges the services. The assisted living facility must be contracted with the plan; not every facility accepts Medicaid, and among those that do, the number of Medicaid beds is often limited.
Getting on the wait list
The first step is a telephone screening by the Aging and Disability Resource Center for the applicant's region. Call the statewide Elder Helpline at 1-800-96-ELDER (1-800-963-5337) and ask for the long-term care program screening. The screener scores the person's needs and assigns a priority rank. Releases from the wait list are made by rank, not by date, so a person with a high need can be released quickly while someone with lighter needs may wait many months.
A person in a nursing home who wants to move to assisted living, and certain other groups, may bypass the wait list. Once released, the person has a short window to complete the CARES medical assessment and the DCF financial application, so the paperwork should be ready before the release comes.
What the program pays for, and what it does not
The plan pays the assisted living facility for care services. The resident pays the facility for room and board from their own income, at a rate the facility sets for Medicaid residents, keeping a personal needs allowance. Florida's Optional State Supplementation program can add a small amount for residents whose income is very low. Because the resident's income has to cover room and board, a person with income near the cap is generally in a workable position, and a person with very little income may find that few facilities will take them.
Care at home
The same program pays for care in the person's own home, including a family member's home. A Qualified Income Trust is still required if income is over the cap, and the five-year look-back applies exactly as it does for a nursing home. Some Florida regions also have PACE programs (Programs of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly) that provide day-center and home care under a single plan; where PACE is available it is worth comparing.
Where Senior Care Resources fits
We handle the financial side: the screening call, the spend-down plan, the Qualified Income Trust if one is needed, the DCF application, and the coordination with the plan once the person is released from the wait list. Because the wait can be long, the most useful thing we do for many assisted living families is get them screened and ranked early, before the money runs out.
Frequently asked questions
Does Florida Medicaid pay for assisted living?
Yes, through the Statewide Medicaid Managed Care Long-Term Care program. It pays the facility for care services; the resident pays room and board from their own income. The resident must qualify financially and medically and must be released from the program's wait list.
How long is the Florida Medicaid assisted living wait list?
It depends on the person's priority rank, which is set by a screening of their care needs, not on how long they have been waiting. High-need applicants can be released within weeks; lower-ranked applicants may wait a year or more. Certain people, including nursing home residents transitioning out, can bypass the list.
What are the income and asset limits for assisted living Medicaid in Florida?
The same as nursing home Medicaid: $2,982 a month in income (a Qualified Income Trust is required above that) and $2,000 in countable assets for a single applicant in 2026.
How do I get my parent on the Florida long-term care Medicaid wait list?
Call the Elder Helpline at 1-800-96-ELDER (1-800-963-5337) and ask for a screening for the Statewide Medicaid Managed Care Long-Term Care program. The Aging and Disability Resource Center will do a telephone assessment and place the person on the list with a priority rank.
Can Florida Medicaid pay for care at home?
Yes. The Long-Term Care program covers personal care, homemaker services, adult day care, respite, and other services in the person's home, subject to the same financial and medical eligibility and the same wait list.
Free Medicaid screening
Find out where you stand before you apply
A few questions about income, assets, and care tell us whether your family member is eligible for Florida Medicaid now, what stands in the way if not, and what a plan would look like. Families anywhere in Florida. No cost, no obligation.
This page is general information about Florida Medicaid, not legal advice, and nothing here creates an attorney-client relationship. Medicaid rules change and every family’s facts are different.
Senior Care Resources is a separate company from Zacharia Frey PLLC. Its Medicaid application services are not legal services, and no attorney-client protection applies to them. When an attorney becomes involved, that is a separate legal representation with the law firm.