Florida Nursing-Home Medicaid Screening
Before You Apply for Medicaid, Find Out Where You Stand.
When a parent or spouse needs nursing-home care, it can be difficult to know whether Medicaid will help—or whether income, savings, property, or past financial transactions could create a problem. Medicaid In A Minute gives your family a clearer picture before you apply.
See whether your loved one appears financially eligible
Identify issues that could delay or prevent approval
Learn what may need attention before an application is filed
The screening is free — no credit card, and nothing is billed afterward. It takes about ten minutes. Already started one? Log in to pick it up where you left off.
Florida-specific • Attorney-designed • No obligation • About ten minutes
Don’t Apply Blindly.
Medicaid is too complicated for guesswork. Income trusts, IRA distributions, asset limits, capacity concerns, and inadequate powers of attorney can all derail an application.
Yet families are often told to apply first and hope for the best—only to receive a denial three months later, after more than $40,000 in nursing-home bills have accumulated. Medicaid In A Minute was designed to prevent that crisis.
Before you apply, take a few minutes to evaluate eligibility, identify potential problems, and understand what must be addressed. Know where you stand first—then apply with a plan.
When your application goes in, it should go in having been screened, planned, and with no reason for denial.
That is the goal of Senior Care Resources and Medicaid In A Minute.
Florida-specific screening
Designed with elder-law experience
Private and secure
No obligation to hire anyone
Medicaid In A Minute is not a government website.
Is Medicaid In A Minute Right for Your Family?
The screening is designed for families who need an initial understanding of a loved one’s financial Medicaid situation.
A loved one may need nursing-home care
You are worried about the cost of care and how long their savings will last.
You are preparing to apply for Medicaid
You want to identify possible problems before submitting an application.
The rules are becoming confusing
You have questions about income, bank accounts, a home, retirement funds, transfers, or protections for a spouse.
Three Steps to a Clearer Picture
Tell Us About the Situation
Answer straightforward questions about the Medicaid applicant, spouse, income, assets, property, and financial history.
Receive Your Readiness Review
A member of our team reads your answers and gets back to you, normally within one business day, with possible eligibility concerns, planning issues, and anything that needs a closer look.
Understand the Next Step
Learn whether the family may be ready to apply, should gather additional information, or may benefit from professional assistance.
What You’ll Learn
The screening turns complicated financial information into a practical summary your family can understand.
Eligibility Outlook
A preliminary indication of whether the information provided appears consistent with basic Florida financial eligibility rules.
Possible Problems
Issues involving income, resources, property, transfers, trusts, retirement accounts, or other financial circumstances that may require attention.
Planning Considerations
Possible areas the family may need to explore before filing, including protections that may be available when the applicant has a spouse.
Recommended Next Step
A clearer indication of whether to proceed, collect more information, or obtain professional guidance.
Your Medicaid Readiness Review
Prepared for the Miller family (example)
Income
Appears above the Florida limit — review options
Countable assets
Appears within range based on what was entered
Homestead
Looks exempt — confirm title and residence
Transfers in the last five years
One gift reported — needs a closer look
Married applicant
Rules that protect the spouse at home may apply
Illustration only. Figures and findings are fictional, and a screening result is not an official Medicaid determination. A member of our team reads every screening before the review is sent — normally within one business day of finishing.
Small Details Can Create Major Medicaid Problems
These are the kinds of issues the screening looks for. Some take a moment to confirm; others change what a family should do before anything is filed.
Income above the applicable limit
Too much money in bank or investment accounts
Questions involving a home or other property
Gifts or transfers during the lookback period (the five years before applying, which Medicaid reviews)
Retirement accounts and required distributions
Life insurance or annuities
A spouse who remains at home
Missing or incomplete financial information
Questions about legal authority to act for the applicant
Not every issue on this list can be resolved, and some situations have no fix. Seeing them early is what gives a family the chance to understand the options that do exist.
“Families often apply for Medicaid before they fully understand the financial rules. Months later, they may discover a problem that existed from the beginning. We created Medicaid In A Minute to help families identify those concerns earlier and make a more informed decision about what to do next.”
Carl B. Zacharia
Florida Elder Law Attorney
From the author
Florida Long-Term Care and Medicaid
A Family’s Guide to Finding, Getting, and Paying for Good Care · 2026 Edition
Planning for long-term care in Florida is not only about finding good care. It is about protecting the people you love, and making decisions before a health crisis becomes a financial one.
The book explains the long-term-care system in plain English: choosing the right care setting, who pays and when Medicare does not, Florida Medicaid’s income and asset rules, homestead protections, powers of attorney, spend-down planning, and Qualified Income Trusts. Written for families, not for lawyers.
Available in paperback and Kindle.
If You Want More Help, It Is Here
You are under no obligation to go any further than the screening. If you decide you would like a hand with the application or a legal question, these affiliated teams can help — only if you ask.
The free screening
Medicaid In A Minute
Shows where your family stands and flags anything that may need attention. For many families, that is all they need.
If you would like help applying
Senior Care Resources
Can prepare the Medicaid application and see it through with the state, if you would rather not do it yourself.
If a legal question comes up
Zacharia Frey PLLC
An elder-law firm, for matters such as powers of attorney, income trusts, appeals, or guardianship.
Legal services are offered separately and are not included merely by completing the screening. Completing the screening does not create an attorney-client relationship.
Not Sure Where to Begin?
Watch this brief introduction to learn what Medicaid In A Minute asks, what the screening can identify, and what you will receive when you finish.
Common Questions
No. It is a preliminary screening tool intended to help families better understand possible financial eligibility concerns before or during the application process.
No. Medicaid eligibility depends on the complete facts, supporting records, applicable law, and the agency’s review.
Most families finish in about ten minutes, although complex situations may take longer.
It is helpful to have general information about income, bank and investment accounts, retirement funds, real estate, life insurance, transfers, marital status, and current care needs.
Yes. The current screening is designed for Florida nursing-home Medicaid, and the questions and reference figures it uses are Florida’s.
No. Completing the screening does not by itself create an attorney-client relationship or constitute legal representation.
A member of our team reads your answers and gets back to you with your Readiness Review, normally within one business day. You get a summary of your own answers straight away. Then you can decide whether to proceed independently, gather more information, or request professional assistance.
Yes. When you start, we create a record for the applicant from the details you enter so we can send you the form and follow up. If you complete the screening online, your answers are saved to that record as you go, so you can sign in with a one-time emailed code and pick up where you left off. If you choose the fillable PDF instead, the completed form you send back is stored in a private, non-public file store. Your information is used to prepare and review your assessment.
Understand the Situation Before You Apply
A few minutes now may help your family identify questions that could otherwise emerge months into the Medicaid process.
Preliminary Florida Medicaid screening • No official eligibility determination • No attorney-client relationship created