Nursing home and long-term care costs can use up a lifetime of savings quickly. Florida Medicaid can help pay for that care, but its income and asset rules are strict, and mistakes can delay coverage. Sawyer & Sawyer, P.A. helps Ocoee families plan for long-term care, apply for benefits correctly, and protect as much as the law allows for a spouse and family.
How Florida Medicaid Helps Pay for Long-Term Care
Florida Medicaid covers nursing home care and, through its long-term care program, some care at home or in assisted living for people who meet the medical and financial requirements. Your income and countable assets must fall under set limits. Some assets don’t count, including your home in many cases.
The Five-Year Look-Back
Medicaid reviews gifts and transfers made during the five years before you apply. Giving assets away during that window can trigger a penalty period with no coverage. Planning early gives you the most options, but even when care is needed now, legal strategies are often still available.
When Income Is Over the Limit
If your income is above Florida’s limit for long-term care Medicaid, a qualified income trust (sometimes called a Miller trust) can allow you to qualify.
Benefits for Veterans
Veterans and surviving spouses may be eligible for VA pension benefits, including Aid and Attendance, to help pay for care. Cary Moss is VA-accredited and can help you apply.
Medicaid Planning in Ocoee
In Ocoee, about 1 in 9 residents is 65 or older and the typical home is worth about $406,000. Putting a home or savings in a child’s name before applying for Medicaid can backfire. Besides the look-back penalty, assets given to a child are exposed to that child’s creditors, a divorce and poor financial decisions.
If a transfer has already been made, all is not lost. In Florida, a disqualifying transfer can be reversed if the child still has the funds and returns them, which can open the door to crisis planning.
Once the money is spent, that option is off the table, so timing matters. If gifts were made in the last five years, we work out with you where you stand in the five-year window before any application is filed.
Figures: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020–2024 5-year estimates.
From Our Podcast: Medicaid’s 5-Year Lookback Rule Explained: Protecting Your Family’s Assets from Penalty Periods
When a son or daughter provides care at home, how the family pays them matters for Medicaid. On Life, Legacy & Wealth, Cary Moss walks through how a personal care contract can protect a family’s assets while staying fully compliant. She also covers why adding names to property deeds can trigger serious penalties, and how proper documentation can mean the difference between approval and denial.
Why Ocoee Families Work With Sawyer & Sawyer
Sawyer & Sawyer, P.A. is a family firm that has served Central Florida since 1994. We treat every client as an extension of our family, and we focus on people before the paperwork.
- Cary L. Moss, Esq., Managing Partner. Concentrates on estate settlement, probate, trust administration, long-term care planning and estate planning. Served five years on the Board of Directors of the Academy of Florida Elder Law Attorneys, including a term as president.
- Thomas P. Moss, Esq., Senior Attorney. Focuses on estate planning, guardianship and estate settlement. Former Co-Chair of the Orange County Bar Association’s Estate, Guardianship and Trust Law Committee.
Our office at 8913 Conroy Windermere Road in Orlando is about 20 minutes from Ocoee.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it too late if my parent is already in a nursing home?
Not necessarily. Crisis planning can still protect assets and help with eligibility in many cases.
How is a look-back penalty worked out?
Medicaid adds up any gifts or transfers made during the five years before applying, by the applicant or their spouse, where nothing of equal value came back. It divides the total by a published average monthly nursing home cost. The result is the number of months Medicaid won’t pay for care.
Won’t Medicare pay for nursing home care?
Not for long-term care. Medicare is health insurance for people typically 65 and older, and it offers only limited short-term coverage. Medicaid, a joint federal and state program, can pay for long-term care if you meet its income and asset requirements, and planning can make a real difference in qualifying while preserving your savings.
Related Reading
- Medicaid Planning and the Rising Cost of Nursing Home Care
- Florida’s Five-Year Medicaid Lookback Rule: What Families Need to Know Before It’s Too Late
- Medicare vs. Medicaid
Other Services in Ocoee
Estate Planning · Supplemental Needs / Special Needs Planning · Probate · Trust Administration · Guardianship · Ocoee
Medicaid Planning Across Central Florida
Orlando · Windermere · Winter Garden · Horizon West · Clermont · Winter Park · Orange County · Seminole County · Osceola County · Lake County
Directions to Our Office From Ocoee
Talk to a Medicaid Planning Attorney Serving Ocoee
Call (407) 909-1900 or send us a message to set up a consultation. Our office is open Monday through Thursday, 9 AM to 5 PM, and Friday, 9 AM to 12 PM.