Medicaid guide
Medicaid home health for children under 21 in Florida
Children on Florida Medicaid can get medically necessary nursing and personal care at home. This is a separate path from the waivers, so a child does not need a waiver slot to ask for it.
The short answer
Florida Medicaid covers Private Duty Nursing for medically necessary skilled nursing under age 21, Personal Care Services for help with daily living at home or in the community under age 21, and Home Health Visits for all ages. A prescribing provider orders the service and the child's Medicaid coverage authorizes the hours.
The three services
| Service | What it covers | Who |
|---|---|---|
| Private Duty Nursing (PDN) | Medically necessary skilled nursing at home | Under 21 |
| Personal Care Services (PCS) | Medically necessary help with activities of daily living, at home or in the community | Under 21 |
| Home Health Visits | Intermittent skilled nursing and home health aide visits, up to four a day under 21 | All ages |
| Family Home Health Aide (FHHA) | A trained relative, employed by an agency, delivers aide services to a medically fragile child | Under 21, PDN-eligible |
How a family starts
- Talk to the child's doctor. Ask for an order that describes the skilled needs: airway, ventilator, feeding tube, seizures, medications.
- Call the Medicaid plan or CMS coverage. Ask how prior authorization works for your child.
- Choose an agency. The agency's registered nurse assesses the child and writes the plan of care with you.
- Ask about gaps. Authorized hours and staffed hours are not always the same. Ask each agency directly how many of your hours it can fill now.
If hours go unfilled
A related provider, legal guardian or caretaker relative may be able to fill some gaps as a paid Family Home Health Aide after state-required training.
Read more about how Aster Care's nurses work with children on our pediatric private duty nursing page.
About this page. Aster Care LLC is a private home care agency, not a government agency. Eligibility decisions are made by the state offices named here. This is general information, not legal or benefits advice, and program rules change, so please confirm details with those offices.
Questions families ask
Does my child have to be on a waiver to get nursing at home?
Not for Medicaid home health services. AHCA lists PDN and PCS as Medicaid services for recipients under 21 when medically necessary. The iBudget waiver is a separate program.
Is respite covered?
Respite is an iBudget waiver service for people under 21 in the family home. Ask your plan or support coordinator what applies to your child.