“Till death do us part” – These words serve as the basis for modern-day marriages. The idea initially was that marriage was a lifelong contract between partners and was only to be broken upon the death of one or both spouses. But what if the best way to save your spouse was to ignore them entirely and seemingly break the “till death” agreement to care for one another?
That is the predicament that many face in the process of qualifying for Medicaid. Spousal Refusal, often called the “just say no” option, is when a spouse of a long-term care Medicaid recipient or applicant refuses to pay the costs associated with the long-term care. Under current Medicaid rules in Florida, an individual cannot be legally denied care if the spouse does not need Medicaid and refuses to contribute towards the costs of care in Florida.
UNDERSTANDING MEDICAID: