How to get Medicaid to pay for some or ALL of your long-term care expenses | Warning for recipients
- Ask Medicaid Florida
- Dec 13, 2025
- 4 min read
About the Author
Jason Neufeld is a Florida lawyer who focuses his elder law practice on Medicaid planning. He wrote this clear, easy-to-read, primer (think: Medicaid Planning 101) to help educate those interested in Medicaid planning for themselves or a loved one.
Without having to wait 5 years; without having to sell your house; and without having to go broke first.
As we age, the exorbitant cost of long-term care is, by far, the greatest risk to one's financial security. From hiring a home-health aide, to paying for assisted living facilities or nursing home care. Five years of long-term care can easily cost between $200,000.00 and $600,000.00 which will completely decimate the life savings of most Americans. Most people don’t realize that Medicaid is available to pay for long term care expenses. Even fewer know that one can legally and ethically qualify for Medicaid before going broke!
This book was written by an elder law attorney and includes an overview of Medicaid Planning, with chapters devoted to:
The Medicaid Income and Asset Tests
Countable vs. Non-Countable Assets
What is a Qualified Income Trusts (Miller Trust) and when is one needed?
How to Protect Your Home (or sell the house and still be Medicaid eligibility)
Clarifying the 5-year look back period (no, you shouldn't have to wait 5 years to engage in Medicaid Planning)
Personal Services Contracts (Caregiver Agreements)
Special Needs Trusts
How to minimize or avoid Medicaid estate recovery
The book will explain how to take someone with too many assets and qualify them for Medicaid. It will also explain how to protect one's Medicaid eligibility after receiving a sudden influx of assets (such as from a personal-injury settlement or after receiving an inheritance).
Given the amount of misinformation being disseminated about Medicaid, and who is able to obtain those long-term care benefits, this guide (written by a Florida Medicaid lawyer - https://www.elderneedslaw.com/ - for the benefit of non-lawyers) seeks to provide clear steps to enable you to understand how you can tap valuable resources in order to care for yourself, your spouse, or your elderly loved one.
From the Back Cover
If you're rich, you can afford to pay for long-term care. If you're destitute, you likely already qualify for Medicaid. Its EVERYONE IN BETWEEN who gets hurt - and may benefit from Medicaid Planning.
The good news is that you don't have to wait until you're penniless before qualifying for Medicaid. There are legal and ethical strategies that will allow you to preserve your hard-earned money and still get Medicaid to cover some or all of your long-term care expenses (whether its help paying for home health care, ALF care, or skilled nursing home care).
This book answers the following questions and more:
Do you have to wait five years? (no)
Do you have to sell your house? (no)
Can you minimize, or even eliminate, what has to be paid back to Medicaid (yes)
What is the difference between the Medicaid Income Test and Asset Test?
Amazon Book Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars Great info, easy read
Reviewed in the United States on December 28, 2024
This booklet gave me the info I was looking for to start this process for my MIL. Although it is written specifically for the regulations in Florida, the information pretty much applies to all states. If you are in the planning process for long-term Medicaid and don't know where to start, this is the primer for you.
5.0 out of 5 stars Educate yourself so you can make informed decisions.
Reviewed in the United States on July 21, 2020
You probably have a lot of questions about estate planning, we did. This book provides details about much of the basics of Medicaid Planning, in a way that is easily understandable and relevant. This is an area of estate planning that can often be intimidating and the book provides a framework for building your knowledge so that you are prepared when you have conversations with your estate attorney. You've worked hard your entire life for your retirement, you owe it to yourself to plan and ensure that you and your family can enjoy the fruits of your labor to the fullest extent possible. This book gets you started on that journey.
5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent guide to the ins and outs of how it all works
Reviewed in the United States on October 8, 2019
At last, a book that gets down to the nuts and bolts of how it all works. This is the first material I have found that walks you through the" nitty-gritty" of what needs to be done, not done, when and how. I bought it for my Kindle and was so pleased that I bought a book for my son as we wend our way through the maze of rules and regulations concerning a trust. Since Medicaid rules vary by state, do not be put off by the fact that the author is a lawyer from Florida, as he acknowledges, and uses that state as an example. I have not found this to be a problem. The big picture is pretty much the same for all, and there are many resources for easily locating information for all other states. This is an excellent book.
Disclaimer
AMF is a part of Amazon's Associate Affiliate program. This article may contain links to Amazon.com that allows us to earn a small commission on qualified purchases at no additional cost to you. Ask Medicaid Florida makes no claims to be associated with any state agencies including Medicaid of Florida. Read full disclaimer.
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