GAPP questions, answered

There is no out-of-pocket cost for eligible families. Care is covered by Georgia Medicaid. No copay, no deductible.

Georgia Medicaid. Every case is submitted for review and approved on your child's medical needs and how much care is involved. HeartPath cannot approve or deny anyone.

Around 30 days from the first call is typical, though Medicaid sets the pace of its own review. The most common delay is physician paperwork, not Medicaid.

Yes, your child can attend school. What GAPP will not do is pay for hours delivered at school, because that overlaps with what the school is responsible for under an IEP.

Hours are scheduled around school: mornings, evenings, overnights, weekends, holidays and summer. If your child has an IEP, the current one is part of the paperwork.

GAPP does not pay for hours while your child is an inpatient, and it does not pay for care delivered outside Georgia. Hours pause and resume when your child is home. Tell us as soon as you know, so nothing is billed wrongly and your nurse's schedule is protected.

GAPP is a Medicaid service, not a payment to your family, so the nursing hours are not income and do not count against SSI.

One thing to watch: if you are hired and paid as a family caregiver, that is wages, and earned income in the household can affect a child's SSI. Call your SSI caseworker before you start.

There is no long-term contract. GAPP has a formal transfer process and families do change providers. If you are with another agency and want to move, we can walk you through it. If you are with us and it is not working, we would rather help you move than have your child go without the right fit.

Hours come from the plan of treatment your child's physician signs, so more hours start with the doctor. Tell us and tell the physician, and we help get updated documentation submitted. Be careful with any agency that promises more hours quickly. Nobody can promise that.

That is the whole point of how we staff. We match nurses to their client and work to keep the same nurse with the same family, because the nurse who knows your child's baseline is the one who spots the day it changes.

In some GAPP cases, yes. Georgia's Family Caregiver Option can hire and pay a family member as a W-2 employee for the child's approved personal care hours. It covers personal care, not skilled nursing, foster parents are not eligible, and it is rarely approved for very young children. See the full guide.

No. Your family files that with the state. We help you understand what it asks for and point you to the Katie Beckett team. Once approved, we handle the GAPP paperwork from there.

Families across Georgia, with the heaviest coverage in metro Atlanta. Care is scheduled around your child's needs including nights, weekends and overnights. Call 678-459-2590 and tell us where you are.

Yes. Many of the families we serve speak Spanish, and interpreter services are available at no cost. Our site is also available en español.

Until they turn 21. Coverage ends at 20 years and 11 months, so plan the transition to adult services early. Katie Beckett ends sooner, in the late teens.