The following dollar amounts represent the Medicaid income and asset limits for 2019. If an individual exceeds these limits, they will not qualify for Florida Medicaid Institutional Care Program benefits, to help pay the cost of long term care in a skilled nursing facility. Often, when someone has excess income or assets, there are legal options that can followed to allow eligibility for benefits to help pay for long term care in a skilled nursing home. Consultation with an experienced Medicaid planning elder law attorney can help you meet the eligibility criteria. We can help you develop a legally sound spend down plan so that you, or your loved one, can qualify for Medicaid benefits, even if your circumstances exceed the Medicaid income and asset limits. The reference links provided for each item below refer to the applicable official policy manual provisions for the Florida Department of Children and Families.
Florida Medicaid Income Limits 2019
Personal needs allowance: $130.00 Appendix A-9 – This is the amount of funds the Medicaid beneficiary can retain each month from the individual’s income. The personal needs allowance is designed to provide for your personal needs through the month. The personal needs allowance increases each year, but otherwise is not impacted by the Medicaid income and asset limits.
Monthly income cap: $2,313 Appendix A-9 – This is the maximum amount of available income an individual can have and qualify for Medicaid benefits. If monthly income exceeds the income cap of $2,313 per month, the individual seeking Medicaid coverage for nursing home care can use a qualified income trust to avoid the income cap, and become eligible for Medicaid benefits even with the excess income. If you have questions about whether a qualified income trust can help you qualify for Medicaid benefits, please call us. Or, if you know that a qualified income trust is all you need, you may want to visit the Qualified Income Trust page of this website.
MMMNA (Monthly Maintenance Minimum Needs Allowance) lower range: $2,058 Appendix A-9 – This is the minimum amount of income that is required to be available to the spouse who remains at home when the other spouse is in the nursing home. If the spouse who lives in the home has less income than the MMMNA lower range, that spouse is automatically entitled to divert enough income from the spouse in the nursing home to raise the home based spouse’s income to the MMMNA.
MMMNS upper range: $3,161 Appendix A-9 – This is the maximum amount of support that can be diverted from the income of the spouse who is in the nursing home to the community spouse who remains in the home. This allows the spouse who remains in the home to have a minimum level of support based on pre-existing needs to pay the mortgage, utilities, and other needs required by the at home spouse. If the stay at home spouse’s income is less than the allowable expenses, the income of the spouse in the nursing home is diverted to the stay at home spouse. The amount of the diversion is the amount by which the allowable expenses exceed the stay at home spouse’s countable income.
Florida Medicaid Asset Limits for 2019
Individual Resource allowance: $2,000.00 1640.0205.3 Appendix A-9 – This is the maximum amount of countable assets that can be owned by the spouse who is in the skilled nursing facility, and allow the individual to qualify for Medicaid benefits to help pay the cost of long term care. One of the important considerations in Medicaid planning is to determine whether countable assets legally can be converted to non-countable assets, without the imposition of a penalty. An experienced Medicaid planning elder law attorney can help you design a plan to accomplish that objective.
Resource allowance for husband and wife (both reside in facility): $3,000.00 1640.0205.3 Appendix A-9 – This is the maximum amount of countable assets that a married couple can own and still qualify for Medicaid benefits, where both spouses are residing in a skilled nursing home.
CSRA lower range: $126,420 Appendix A-9
CSRA upper range: $126,420 Appendix A-9 – This is the maximum amount of countable assets that the community spouse, who remains in the home, can own while the spouse who is in the nursing home remains eligible for Medicaid benefits to help pay for the nursing home costs. The home, and certain other types of assets, are not countable assets. Often the objective of Medicaid planning is to identify legal strategies to convert countable assets to non-countable assets, without the imposition of a penalty period by Medicaid. If you need assistance developing such a plan, we can help you or your loved design and implement a spend down plan that will work for you and your family. Call us to schedule a consultation to evaluate whether you have assets that can be protected by legally converting countable assets to non-countable assets.
Home equity limit: $585,000.00 1640.0307.04 Appendix A-9 – This is the amount of equity (home value less mortgage owed) for a home that is allowed as a non-countable asset, where the home is owned by the spouse who is in the nursing home, or the spouse who is living in the home, or the home is owned by both spouses. In Florida, unless the equity in your home exceeds this amount, generally, you should not transfer your home. There are a number of issues involved with protecting homestead for the family. If there is a home with equity, you should consult with an experienced Medicaid planning elder law attorney to determine the most appropriate course of action for dealing with the homestead.
Life insurance face value limit: $2,500.00 1640.0554 – This is the maximum amount of life insurance death benefit that the nursing home resident can own and be within the Medicaid income and asset limits. Life insurance death benefit, and life insurance cash value, beyond this limit requires that some action be taken to avoid loss of Medicaid benefits. If you or your loved one has more than $2,500 of death benefits in a life insurance policy, you should consult with an experienced Medicaid planning elder law attorney. With the assistance of such a lawyer, you can explore different options to legally deal with the excess life insurance death benefit or cash value, and qualify for Medicaid benefits to pay for long term care.
Burial savings account limit: $2,500.00 1640.0512 – An individual is allowed by the Medicaid income and asset limits, to place $2,500 in an interest bearing “burial savings account.” These funds are designed to assist with the out of pocket costs associated with the funeral and burial of a deceased Medicaid beneficiary.
If your income and assets exceed the Medicaid income and assets limits for 2019; or, if you, your family member, or other loved one, needs assistance obtaining Medicaid benefits under the Institutional Care Program, to pay for long term care, we can help. Call us to schedule a consultation to determine what is legally necessary and appropriate to help that person get qualified for Medicaid benefits to help pay for long term care. We can help.