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

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New Hampshire program

Nurses and aides at home through NH Medicaid

Nursing and home health care for your child through NH Medicaid, after the health plan approves it.

What it is

Nursing and home health care for your child through NH Medicaid, after the health plan approves it.

Your child's care needs deserve a clinical assessment. Even care that is mostly watching and checking can qualify for nursing or another Medicaid service. The care team describes the tasks and risks for the plan or DHHS.

Eligibility rules
  • Medicaid coverage is needed for payment. The child’s health plan—or DHHS for fee-for-service coverage—identifies the medical-necessity and prior-authorization process.
  • The decision depends on daily nursing needs, not only the diagnosis.
What you get
  • Covered nursing hours and home health care at home once approved.
What the help covers
  • The clinician’s order and description of daily care support the requested hours.
If you decide to apply
  1. Ask the discharge planner to send your child’s care needs and the doctor’s nursing order to the plan.
  2. Ask for the written decision and help finding a nursing agency before discharge.

The child's NH Medicaid health plan · NH DHHS Ombudsman 1-800-852-3345, Option 1; AmeriHealth Caritas New Hampshire member services 1-833-704-1177 · Official page ↗

After you apply
  • A plan usually has seven calendar days to decide a routine request (WellSense's rule since July 2026); ask for an urgent review when waiting would be risky, and for written reasons if it asks for more time.
Good to know

Approval of hours and finding available nurses are separate parts of getting help at home.

Other details
  • A parent is not automatically paid for home care. The social worker can ask DHHS, the plan and the nursing agency whether the particular service permits a qualified parent to be hired, what nursing or aide license is required, and which hours could be authorized. A family-caregiver arrangement is not the same as approval for an outside nurse.
Official sources
Ask your social worker

“What nursing help could our child receive at home, and what would still fall to us? Could you help the team request the right hours and find nurses?”

Why I’m asking: I want a safe plan for the care our child will need after leaving the hospital.

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 request to go in before discharge and ask the plan for the decision in writing.

Your social worker

The discharge planner and the oncology team write what the child needs at home and send it to the plan.

The care team

The doctor writes the order for nursing hours and the daily-care description behind it.

Who decides
The child's NH Medicaid health plan authorises the hours.
Ask your social worker
“Can we get the nursing request to the health plan before discharge, and ask for the urgent decision in writing?”

How to apply

First step: The discharge team can review the home-care need and any discharge-related urgency with you, then identify the correct authorization route.

  1. Ask the discharge planner to send the nursing request to the plan before the discharge date.
  2. Ask the plan in writing for the decision date and for the urgent route if discharge is set.
  3. If the deadline passes with no answer, call the state ombudsman on 1-800-852-3345, Option 1.

Official application / program page ↗

Where it starts: The hospital's discharge planner sends the request to the plan before discharge.

What to gather

  • The doctor's order for nursing hours
  • The discharge date
  • The child's Medicaid identity number

How long: WellSense’s July 1, 2026 notice gives seven calendar days for standard non-drug authorizations. The child’s plan confirms its current standard and urgent deadlines and any permitted extension. DHHS identifies the fee-for-service authorization route.

What a yes looks like

An authorisation naming the hours a week and the agency.

What a no looks like, and the next move

A refusal or silence past the deadline. Appeal through the plan and call the state ombudsman on 1-800-852-3345, Option 1.

Watch out

  • The request has to go in before discharge, not after.
  • Routine screenings need no authorisation, but treatments often do.
  • A parent is not automatically paid for care. DHHS, the plan and nursing agency must confirm whether the service permits a qualified parent to be hired, with the required license, agency employment and approved hours.

Dates that change this

2026-07-01: WellSense’s July 1, 2026 notice gives seven calendar days for standard non-drug authorizations. The child’s plan confirms its current standard and urgent deadlines and any permitted extension. DHHS identifies the fee-for-service authorization route. (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

Medicaid nursing and home health depend on the child’s assessed need and the applicable plan or DHHS approval process.

  • $7 — WellSense standard non-drug authorization decision from July 1, 2026, in calendar days
  • $14 — Previously recorded extension figure; current plan notice and permitted extension must be confirmed

Covers: Private duty nursing hours at home · Home health visits · Equipment and supplies the plan approves

Legal protection: Routine child health screenings do not need the plan's prior authorisation · A missed decision deadline is not the family's problem to solve alone: the state ombudsman line is 1-800-852-3345, Option 1

What it costs the family: None on NH Medicaid.

The eligibility facts, as published

Coverage
NH Medicaid
Authorisation
private duty nursing requires the health plan's prior authorisation
Level of care
decided from what the child needs day to day
Note
WellSense’s July 1, 2026 notice gives seven calendar days for standard non-drug authorizations. The child’s plan confirms its current standard and urgent deadlines and any permitted extension. DHHS identifies the fee-for-service authorization route.

The trap: WellSense’s July 1, 2026 notice gives seven calendar days for standard non-drug authorizations. The child’s plan confirms its current standard and urgent deadlines and any permitted extension. DHHS identifies the fee-for-service authorization route.

Where I read this

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