I would like to do some repairs to the house. With Medicaid, does this count as non-essential spending?

Home improvements or repairs are not considered transfers if the homeowner is the one applying for nursing home Medicaid. Since the personal residence is an exempt asset anyway, then improvements or repairs are simply adding to the exempt asset. Of course, there is a limit, since an unmarried person applying for Medicaid cannot exempt a home with a net value that exceeds $560,000 (note that this amount may be increased up to $840,000 under federal law, if the state you are in so chooses; most have not done so). If the spouse of the Medicaid applicant is living in the home, then it is exempt regardless of the value.

After the homeowner is on Medicaid, however, no part of their income can be used to make repairs or improvements to the home. It all must go to the nursing as part of the recipient's "share of costs."

Homeownership comes with a certain level of responsibility including repairs and upkeep. I wouldn't think replacing old floors would matter as long as they actually need repaired or replaced for safety reasons. If the floors are old and actually need replaced, then this would definitely count as a necessity

We live in Florida and were planning on applying for Medicaid within the year for our mom. Our lawyer told us we coukd make inprovements to the house to spend down her money. My passed away before the work was completed. You should consult an Elder law attorney to be safe.

Do you mean as part of the spenddown?

We need to establish which Medicaid. Medicaid for health insurance or Medicaid to help pay for a nursing home.
If you have Medicaid for Health insurance than you needvto talk to ur caseworker. You get Medicaid because of income.

No. Home repairs r a necessity, not a luxury.

What about if the homeowner is in a nursing home? I'm planning on renting out my dad's house to help pay for his care. Which means I will need to have some kind of fund for any needed repairs, since I won't be able to cash flow it(his NH expenses are more than his retirement income).