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The words people keep using
Nobody explains the acronyms. Here they are, in plain language, so the next phone call makes more sense.
Programs
GAPPThe Georgia Pediatric Program. Medicaid-funded in-home skilled nursing and personal care for medically fragile children under 21.
Katie BeckettAlso called the Deeming Waiver or TEFRA. A Medicaid pathway that ignores parents' income and looks only at the child's medical needs.
PeachCareGeorgia's CHIP program. Health coverage for children above the Medicaid income line. It does not lead to GAPP.
SSISupplemental Security Income. A federal cash benefit that, for a child who qualifies, comes with automatic Medicaid.
NOW and COMPGeorgia waivers for adults with developmental disabilities. Relevant when a child ages out of pediatric programs.
Babies Can't WaitGeorgia's early intervention program for children from birth to three. A child can be in Babies Can't Wait and GAPP at the same time.
Roles
RN and LPNRegistered Nurse and Licensed Practical Nurse. They deliver the skilled nursing hours.
CNACertified Nursing Assistant. Delivers personal care support hours, not clinical care.
DONDirector of Nursing. The clinician responsible for your child's care plan at the agency.
Case manager or discharge plannerThe hospital staff member coordinating your child's move from the hospital to home. Often the most useful person in the building.
Forms and paperwork
Plan of treatmentThe document your child's physician signs describing the care required at home. Everything else follows from it.
Prior authorizationMedicaid's approval, in advance, of a level of service and a number of hours. Care cannot be billed without it.
DMA-6 and DMA-6(A)Georgia Medicaid forms documenting medical necessity and level of care. Your physician completes them.
Level of careThe finding that your child needs the kind of care a hospital or facility provides, delivered at home instead. Katie Beckett turns on this.
IEPIndividualised Education Program. The school's plan for your child. If one is in effect, the current one is part of the GAPP paperwork.
EVVElectronic Visit Verification. The system that records when a caregiver arrives and leaves. Required by Medicaid.
Words that trip people up
- Medically fragile is not an insult. It is the program's term for a child whose condition needs ongoing skilled oversight.
- Skilled versus unskilled describes the type of care and who can deliver it, not how much it matters.
- Deeming is the SSI rule that counts a portion of parents' income as though it were the child's. Katie Beckett waives it, which is why it is called the Deeming Waiver.
- Aged out means a child has passed a program's upper age limit. For GAPP that is 21. It is not a denial and it is not your fault.
Ready when you are.
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Check eligibility Call 678-459-2590HeartPath Home Care is an approved provider for the Georgia Pediatric Program. We are not a government agency, and this page is not an official publication of the Georgia Department of Community Health or Georgia Medicaid. It is a plain-language guide for families. Eligibility for GAPP, Medicaid and Katie Beckett is determined solely by Georgia Medicaid and the state agencies that administer them, based on your child's documented medical needs. Program rules and figures change.