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Does Florida Pay for Home Health Care?
Date Updated: July 26, 2024
Written by:
Rachel Lustbader is a writer and editor with a background in healthcare and technology. Her work has been published on websites including HealthCare.com, BiteSizeBio.com, BetterHelp.com, Caring.com, and PayingforSeniorCare.com. She studied health science and public health at Boston University.
Both of Rachel’s grandmothers had very positive experiences in senior living communities, and Rachel saw firsthand the impact that kind, committed caregivers and community managers can have on seniors’ and their family members’ lives. With her work at Caring, Rachel hopes to help other families find communities, caregivers, and at-home products that benefit elderly loved ones and make life less stressful for family caregivers
Florida Medicaid Models of Care
Florida operates a comprehensive Medicaid care model, in which participating seniors can get nearly all of the services they need from virtually any starting point in the system. Home health care is a basic service that’s available under every model of care delivery in Florida, including the Managed Medical Assistance managed care plan, the general Long-Term Care plan and the more condition-specific Comprehensive Long-Term Care plan.
Seniors who choose to age in place and need paramedical support to safely stay in their homes must ask their Medicaid-approved doctor for a recommendation and care plan. Once the doctor issues verification of medical necessity, the beneficiary’s benefits automatically cover the cost of in-home health services from any approved agency in the state.
Home and Community Based Waivers in Florida
Though Florida Medicaid makes all of its covered home health care services available to all of its beneficiaries, there are some non-medical support services Medicaid can’t pay for. Seniors who are enrolled in Medicaid and need these additional supports can apply for an HCBS/DD waiver, which plugs the gap in care coverage for seniors with non-medical in-home support needs.
HCBS/DD reimburses beneficiaries for 28 listed support services, including caregiver assistance, transportation, chore help, nutritional support and some home modifications that would not otherwise be covered by Medicaid. The waiver has the same income and asset enrollment caps as Florida Medicaid, and services provided under HCBS/DD are intended to supplement the Medicaid-approved home health care services and prevent nursing home placement.