Florida runs several different Medicaid waivers, each built for a different population — kids vs. adults, developmental disabilities vs. aging, common conditions vs. rare ones. Find the one that matches your situation below. Every card notes who it's for, what it covers, any age limits, and a direct link to start the application.
Florida's main waiver for people with autism, cerebral palsy, intellectual disabilities, Down syndrome, Prader-Willi syndrome, Phelan-McDermid syndrome, spina bifida, or a high risk of a developmental disability in early childhood. It funds an individualized budget that can cover residential habilitation, behavior analysis, supported employment and supported living, personal supports, therapies, and consumable medical supplies — with a self-directed option (Consumer-Directed Care Plus) if you'd rather hire your own providers.
Age requirement: applicants must be at least 3 years old (children under 3 with delays go through Early Steps instead), and the disability must have been present before age 18. There's no upper age limit. Heads up: this program has a long waitlist — over 21,000 people statewide — sorted by need, so it's worth applying as early as possible even if services don't start right away.
Apply for iBudget Florida ↗Florida's largest long-term care waiver — for anyone who needs a nursing-facility level of care but wants to stay at home or in the community instead. Covers personal care, adult day health care, home accessibility modifications, respite care, skilled nursing, therapies, medical equipment, and more, with a participant-directed option that lets you hire your own caregiver (even a spouse). This is also the program that absorbed Florida's old Traumatic Brain and Spinal Cord Injury, Adult Cystic Fibrosis, and Project AIDS Care waivers when those were folded in back in 2018 — so if you were on one of those, this is where those services live now.
Age requirement: 65 or older, or 18+ with a Social Security-level disability determination. Heads up: it's not an entitlement — there's a frailty-ranked waitlist, though people in crisis or at imminent risk of institutionalization are fast-tracked.
Start with the Florida Elder Helpline ↗A small, often-overlooked waiver for children who are medically complex or technology-dependent, or who have degenerative spinocerebellar disease — including kids currently in a nursing facility who want to transition home. It covers environmental accessibility adaptations, nursing-facility transition support, and respite care. The best part: eligibility is based only on the child's income, not the parents' — so a lot of families who wouldn't qualify for Medicaid otherwise can still get this.
Age requirement: birth through age 20. Heads up: there are only about 20 slots statewide, but there's usually no waitlist, so it moves faster than most.
Learn About the Model Waiver ↗Apply through the CMAT program: (850) 245-4200
A narrow but important waiver specifically for people diagnosed with Familial Dysautonomia, a rare genetic disorder affecting the autonomic nervous system. It covers respite care, support coordination, adult dental services, behavioral health services, consumable medical supplies, durable medical equipment, and non-residential support services, all aimed at keeping someone with FD living at home instead of in an institution.
Age requirement: ages 3 through 64, with a confirmed FD diagnosis and a demonstrated need for hospital-level care.
Learn About the FD Waiver ↗Apply through AHCA: (888) 419-3456
Instead of a traditional waiver, PACE bundles every Medicare and Medicaid service you'd need — medical care, dental, transportation, meals, social work, therapies, and more — into one local program with one care team. It's built for people who qualify for nursing-facility care but can still live safely at home or in the community with enough support.
Age requirement: 55 or older. Heads up: PACE is location-based — it's only available through participating PACE organizations in certain parts of the state, so availability depends on where you live.
Find a PACE Program Near You ↗Not a waiver on its own, but a program worth knowing about if your child qualifies for Private Duty Nursing (PDN): it lets a parent, legal guardian, or caretaker relative get trained and employed by a licensed home health agency to provide paid aide care for their own medically fragile child, at a Medicaid fee-for-service rate of $25/hour. The caregiver must be 18+, pass a background screening, and complete FHHA training.
Age requirement: the child must be under 21 and already eligible for Private Duty Nursing.
Learn About FHHA ↗The waivers above ride on top of two bigger insurance systems: Medicaid and Medicare. Understanding how each one works — who qualifies, what it costs, and how to apply — makes it much easier to know what you're entitled to and how to get it.
Florida runs several Medicaid categories with different rules. For long-term care and waiver Medicaid (the coverage behind iBudget, SMMC LTC, and the other waivers above), a single applicant generally needs monthly income under about $2,901 and countable assets under $2,000 — around $3,000 for a couple when both spouses need care. There's also MEDS-AD Medicaid for people who are aged or disabled but don't need nursing-facility-level care, with lower income limits closer to $1,000–$1,300/month depending on household size.
If your income is too high for regular Medicaid, ask about the Medically Needy (Share of Cost) program — it works like a deductible, about $180/month for a single person or $241/month for a couple, after which Medicaid covers the rest of that month's medical bills. And if you qualify medically for a waiver but your income is a few hundred dollars over the cap, a Qualified Income Trust (Miller Trust) can bring you into range by redirecting the excess into a trust account each month. Heads up: Florida looks back 60 months for asset transfers on long-term-care applications, and pursues estate recovery after death for LTC costs paid.
Apply for Florida Medicaid ↗This is the broader, non-waiver side of Florida Medicaid — the everyday health plan almost every Medicaid recipient is enrolled in for doctor visits, hospital care, prescriptions, and behavioral health. It's separate from the LTC waivers, which layer home-care and personal-support benefits on top of it.
Once you're approved for Medicaid, you get a 30-day choice period to pick a plan; if you don't choose, one is auto-assigned. There's a 120-day window to switch plans for any reason, then an annual 60-day open enrollment period, plus a "good cause" exception if you have a valid reason to switch outside those windows. Statewide plan options include Humana, Sunshine Health, Simply Healthcare, and Florida Community Care, with regional insurers like Aetna, UnitedHealthcare, Molina, and Community Care Plan available in specific areas.
Visit Florida Medicaid Managed Care ↗The standard path is age 65+, with at least 10 years of Medicare-taxed work history for premium-free Part A (otherwise a premium applies). The Initial Enrollment Period runs 7 months, centered on your 65th birthday month.
The disability path is for people under 65: after 24 months of receiving SSDI benefits, Medicare Parts A and B start automatically — no separate application needed, and Social Security mails a welcome package about 3 months beforehand. Two conditions skip that 24-month wait entirely: ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease), where Medicare can start as soon as SSDI begins, and ESRD (kidney failure), where coverage generally starts the 4th month of dialysis, or immediately with self-dialysis training. Heads up: declining Part B without other qualifying employer coverage risks a permanent late-enrollment penalty later.
Get Started with Medicare ↗Part A: premium-free for most; if not, up to $565/month. Hospital deductible $1,736 per benefit period, $434/day coinsurance for days 61–90, $868/day for lifetime reserve days; skilled nursing facility coinsurance is $217/day for days 21–100. Part B: standard premium $202.90/month (higher earners pay $284.10–$689.90 via IRMAA), annual deductible $283. Part D: national base premium around $38.99/month, with IRMAA surcharges of $14.50–$91.00/month for higher earners on top of your specific plan's cost.
See Full Medicare Cost Details ↗Florida's Department of Elder Affairs runs SHINE (Serving Health Insurance Needs of Elders) — free, one-on-one Medicare counseling from trained volunteers who aren't affiliated with any insurance company. They help with enrollment decisions, comparing Medigap vs. Medicare Advantage, choosing a Part D drug plan, connecting you to cost-reduction programs, and handling claims, appeals, billing questions, and fraud reporting. Call 1-800-262-2243 or email shine@agingresources.org.
Visit SHINE ↗These Medicaid-administered programs pay some or all of your Medicare costs if your income is limited. QMB (income roughly up to $1,350/month single, $1,824 couple) is the most generous — it pays Part A and B premiums, deductibles, coinsurance, and copays. SLMB (up to about $1,616/$2,184) and QI (up to about $1,816/$2,455) each pay just the Part B premium. QDWI is a narrower program for people under 65 who lost SSDI and Medicare because they returned to work.
All four automatically qualify you for Part D Extra Help with no separate application, and your home and one vehicle are excluded from the asset count. Apply through the same Medicaid application as above.
Apply Through Florida DCF ↗Once you're approved for iBudget Florida or one of the other waivers above, you'll choose a Waiver Support Coordinator (WSC) through a Qualified Organization. This person becomes your advocate inside the system: they build your person-centered support plan, help identify and request the services and equipment you qualify for, monitor your health and safety, and follow up with providers on your behalf.
A starting list of established support coordination agencies operating around the state, with the areas they primarily serve. This isn't every Qualified Organization in Florida — for the complete, up-to-date list for your specific county, you can also check APD's Waiver Support Coordinator Scorecard.