Florida Medicaid Help in North Central Florida and The Villages

Counties: Alachua, Marion, Lake, Sumter, Citrus, Hernando, Levy, Putnam, Columbia, Bradford, Dixie, Gilchrist, Hamilton, Lafayette, Suwannee and Union.

Communities include: Gainesville, Ocala, The Villages, Leesburg, Clermont, Mount Dora, Inverness, Crystal River, Brooksville, Spring Hill, Lake City, Palatka.

Nursing homes and assisted living facilities anywhere in these counties. Florida Medicaid is administered by Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF) under one set of rules statewide, and a Medicaid application is the same application whether the facility is in Gainesville or in Bonita Springs.

This region includes The Villages and the Ocala and Lake County retirement communities, where a high proportion of applicants are married couples with one spouse still living independently. The community spouse protections, the resource allowance and the income allowance, do more work here than almost anywhere else in Florida. Getting them right is usually the difference between a spouse who is secure and one who is not.

• Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF): takes the financial application through ACCESS Florida (online) or by phone at 1-866-762-2237.
• Department of Elder Affairs, CARES program: makes the medical level-of-care determination for this region.
• Elder Options: the Aging and Disability Resource Center for North Central Florida and The Villages, reached through the statewide Elder Helpline at 1-800-96-ELDER (1-800-963-5337). It screens applicants for the assisted living and home care wait list.
• Senior Care Resources: manages the application, coordinates with all three, and involves our affiliated elder law firm when a case needs legal work.

• Income cap: $2,982 a month (a Qualified Income Trust above that).
• Countable assets: $2,000 for a single applicant.
• Community spouse resource allowance: up to $162,660.
• Community spouse income allowance: $2,705 to $4,066.50 a month.
• Transfer penalty divisor: $10,645 per month.
• Home equity limit: $752,000.

All of these are explained in the Florida Medicaid limits guide.

1. A free screening by phone or online tells us the applicant's income, assets, marital status, and care setting.
2. We give you a written plan: what is exempt, what must be spent down and how, whether a Qualified Income Trust is needed, what a spouse at home keeps, and whether anything needs an attorney.
3. We gather the documents with you, including the five years of statements Florida requires.
4. We file with DCF, serve as designated representative, coordinate the CARES assessment, and answer every request for information until the case is approved.
5. After approval we set up the monthly trust deposits if there are any, explain the patient responsibility, and prepare you for the renewal.

Read more about how the process works and what to expect from the application.