Medicaid provides health care coverage for low-income people. It pays bills submitted by enrolled providers of medical services. Providers who agree to accept Medicaid may not separately bill patients for additional charges for covered services and may not discriminate against Medicaid recipients in the services they provide.
Who is eligible?
Two basic groups of people are eligible for Medicaid: low income children and families and low-income people who are aged, blind, and disabled. Within these two groups are several categories of eligibility. In addition to qualifying under one of these two basic groups, an eligible Medicaid recipient must meet income and asset limits that vary by category. If you need help paying your ongoing medical bills and are unable to obtain private health insurance to pay these bills, you should consider applying for Medicaid. Low-income people on Medicare may also be eligible for help through Medicaid.
What benefits are provided?
Medicaid directly pays participating providers for medical services. Medicaid recipients receive a Medicaid card that they show to providers. In Florida covered services include:
- Physicians
- Inpatient and outpatient hospital care
- Assistive care
- Birth center
- Child health check-up
- Chiropractic
- Community mental health
- Dental for children and adults
- Durable medical equipment and supplies
- Home Health
- Laboratory
- Intermediate care for the developmentally disabled
- Medical foster care
- Nursing facility
- Podiatry
- Prescribed drugs
- Therapy
- Certain Transplants
- Transportation
- Early Intervention Services
- Family Planning Waiver
- Free Standing Dialysis Center Services
- Healthy Start
- Hearing Services
- Hospice Services
- Licensed Midwife Services
- Optometric Services
- Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE)
- Physician Services
- Portable X-Ray Services
How to I apply?
Apply for Medicaid through your local office of the Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF) or online at www.myflorida.com/accessflorida. Medicaid applications can be used to determine Temporary Cash Assistance (TCA) eligibility as well, but a household may apply for Medicaid alone without using up part of its lifetime eligibility for TCA. In addition, other assistance programs for which some or all recipients receive Medicaid, such as SSI, TCA, county health clinics, or participating nursing homes, forward their applications for assistance to DCF for consideration for Medicaid coverage. Go to www.myflfamilies.com/service-programs/access/medicaid.shtml for additional information from DCF or call 1-866-762-2237.
