How GAPP works, start to finish

The short version

1. Your child needs MedicaidGAPP is Medicaid-funded, so this is the gate. Regular Medicaid, SSI-linked Medicaid or Katie Beckett all work.
2. A physician documents the needYour child's doctor completes orders and a plan of treatment describing the care required at home.
3. We submit for prior authorizationHeartPath prepares and submits the request to Georgia Medicaid against that plan of treatment.
4. Medicaid reviews and decidesThey approve a level of service and a number of hours per week. This is the part nobody can rush.
5. We staff and startWe match a nurse or CNA to your child, build a schedule around your family, and begin care.

What you actually have to do

Less than you fear. You make one call, you sign consents, and you help us get your child's physician to complete the documentation. We prepare the forms, chase the signatures, submit the authorization and follow the review.

What we cannot do

We cannot approve your child, speed up Medicaid's review, or promise you a number of hours. Any agency that says otherwise is telling you what you want to hear.

After care starts

• Authorizations are for a set period and have to be renewed, and we track the renewal dates so nothing lapses.
• If your child's condition changes, the plan of treatment can be updated and resubmitted.
• If your nurse is not the right fit, tell us. Continuity matters, but so does the match.
• If a placement is not working at all, GAPP has a formal transfer process. There is no long-term contract holding you.

HeartPath 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.