Medicaid planning, I must admit, is not my area of expertise. You should really contact a good elder care attorney, and if you do not know one, I know a few who are very knowledgeable. However, I also know a thing or two.
The first thing that one can do is the Medicaid 5 year look back. There's also trusts available, such as the NYSARC, that may be able to help you out in qualifying for Medicaid. Finally, there's spousal refusal. Basically, a healthy spouse says that taking care of the unhealthy spouse would be too much of a financial burden and passes the cost onto the state. This option is available in NY, CT, and FL.