Written by a parent, not a doctor. Nothing here is medical advice.

Childhood Cancer Lantern
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Nebraska program

Medicaid without counting the parents' income (Katie Beckett)

Medicaid for a child with a disability living at home, without counting parents’ income or savings.

What it is

Medicaid for a child with a disability living at home, without counting parents’ income or savings.

Katie Beckett can open Medicaid when parents’ income blocks ordinary coverage. Your child must meet disability and care-level rules. A diagnosis alone does not settle those decisions.

Eligibility rules
  • The state-plan route is for children under 19 living at home.
  • DHHS establishes disability through the applicable Social Security or State Review Team process. DHHS can explain when an SSA claim is required and when state review is available.
  • The required level of care can be hospital, nursing facility or an intermediate care facility for people with intellectual disabilities.
  • Care at home must meet the cost-effectiveness test against institutional care.
  • This route checks the child’s own income and resources without counting the parents’ finances. The published regulation says age 18 or younger. DHHS needs to confirm the current child-only financial limits and any age-transition rule before the family relies on this route.
What you get
  • Full Medicaid benefits without counting the parents’ income or savings.
  • Coverage can sit behind private insurance.
  • Home nursing and personal care when separately approved.
What the help covers
  • Coverage includes hospital treatment, chemotherapy, prescriptions and Medicaid transportation.
  • Children age 18 and younger are exempt from Nebraska Medicaid copays. DHHS can confirm whether any category-specific premium applies and which services need separate approval; not every expense is covered.
If you decide to apply
  1. Ask DHHS about the Katie Beckett category on the Medicaid application at iServe.
  2. Have your child’s ID, diagnosis date, treatment plan, daily care notes and any Social Security disability papers ready.

Nebraska DHHS, with the State Review Team or Social Security deciding disability and an assessor deciding level of care · 855-632-7633 · Official page ↗

After you apply
  • The decision notice should identify the coverage category and any unmet disability or care-level requirement.
  • The social worker can help the family ask DHHS to evaluate Katie Beckett and identify the medical and financial records needed. DHHS can explain whether an SSA claim is required or a State Review Team decision is available, and give the expected disability and care-level assessment dates.
Good to know

DHHS must assess disability, the level of care and the cost of care at home. These are separate from the income screen.

Other details
  • Ordinary child Medicaid may already cover a family below its income line. Katie Beckett adds clinical and cost reviews.
  • A detailed account of daily care helps the assessor distinguish medical needs from ordinary parenting.
  • Katie Beckett is one disability-related Medicaid route. An SSI-linked or other disability Medicaid review can use different rules and does not automatically require Katie Beckett’s level-of-care test.
Official sources
Ask your social worker

“Could the care our child needs qualify for Medicaid without counting our income? What extra assessments or costs would that involve, and could you help us decide whether to pursue it?”

Why I’m asking: I want to understand whether our child’s care needs open another route to coverage.

More background and detailed requirements
Additional program information and published rules

Who does what

The three parts, side by side. The agency decides; nobody on this page does.

You

Ask for the category by name, file the Social Security claim, and get the medical records to the office.

Your social worker

The oncology social worker helps gather the records and can chase the level-of-care assessment.

The care team

The oncologist writes what the child needs day to day: the level-of-care decision turns on that, not on the diagnosis name.

Who decides
Nebraska DHHS decides eligibility. Social Security or the State Review Team decides disability, and an assessor decides the level of care.
Ask the agency
“I am applying for my child under the Katie Beckett category, where the parents' income is not counted. What do you need from the oncology team for the level-of-care assessment?”

How to apply

First step: Apply at iserve.nebraska.gov or call 855-632-7633 and say you are asking for Katie Beckett. File the Social Security claim the same week.

  1. Ask for Katie Beckett by name on the Nebraska Medicaid application.
  2. File a Social Security disability claim the same week: acute lymphoblastic leukemia is on Social Security's fast-track list.
  3. Ask the oncology team to write what your child cannot do at home, in plain terms.

Official application / program page ↗

Where it starts: Apply for Medicaid at iserve.nebraska.gov or 855-632-7633 and ask for the Katie Beckett category by name. File the Social Security disability claim the same week.

What to gather

  • The oncology team's notes on what your child needs at home
  • The diagnosis date and the treatment plan
  • Child's birth certificate or ID and Social Security number
  • Any Social Security disability paperwork

How long: Nebraska published no assessment deadline for this category. Ask for a date in writing and chase it weekly.

What a yes looks like

A Medicaid notice in the child’s own name, with a Heritage Health plan to choose.

What a no looks like, and the next move

Ask which of the three decisions failed. If it is level of care, the oncology team’s description of daily needs is what has to change, and you can appeal by the date on the notice.

Watch out

  • There is no separate published form. Ask for the category by name on the Medicaid application.
  • Three decisions are needed: disability, level of care, and cost-effectiveness. The diagnosis alone is not enough.
  • No premium, no financial limit for the child and no decision clock were published, so ask the worker in writing.

Dates that change this

2024-07-01: A July 2026 overview page says "age 19 years or younger" while the checked plan option and the 2024 release say under 19. Under 19 is used here; ask the worker if your child is 19. (not yet confirmed against the final rule)

The numbers and the rules

The arcane layer, kept on purpose. Checked September 11, 2026.

What it is worth

Full Nebraska Medicaid for a disabled child under 19, with the parents' income and savings left out.

  • $19 — Age ceiling

Covers: Everything ordinary Nebraska Medicaid covers · Chemotherapy, hospital care and prescriptions · Nursing and personal care at home when approved · Rides to appointments

Legal protection: The parents' income and resources are disregarded

What it costs the family: unknown: whether Nebraska charges a premium or cost share in this category was not published.

The eligibility facts, as published

Age
under 19 and living at home
Age max exclusive
19
Income
the parents' income and resources are disregarded; the child's own financial limits were not published
Insurance status condition
none: it sits behind a private plan
Residency
Nebraska
Disability standard
determined disabled by Social Security or by the State Review Team
Level of care
hospital, nursing facility, or intermediate care facility for individuals with intellectual disabilities
Cost effectiveness
coverage at home must be decided cost-effective against institutional care
Processing standard
unknown: no assessment deadline was published

Decisions this site cannot make: A disability determination by Social Security or the State Review Team · A hospital, nursing facility or intermediate care level-of-care decision · A cost-effectiveness decision

Expect friction on: No dedicated form, no published financial limits for the child, and no published decision clock were located

The trap: Three separate things have to be shown, not one: a disability decision, a level-of-care decision, and that covering the child at home costs no more than an institution. Ask for it by name on the Medicaid application; there is no separate published form.

Where I read this

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