Georgia Medicaid
TEFRA/Katie Beckett Medicaid Program · About this organization
What you get
Medicaid based on your child's disability and care needs, without counting parental income. A diagnosis alone is not enough.
How to start
Fill in and sign the Medicaid/Katie Beckett application through the benefits portal or local benefits office.
Good to know
- Individual Medicaid services still require covered providers and any applicable medical-necessity or prior-authorization review.
- A new Katie Beckett case-management portal launched April 15, 2026 for document upload and case communication after a case is entered.
The details, as published
TEFRA/Katie Beckett may provide full Medicaid to a Georgia child age 18 or younger who lives at home, meets Social Security disability standards, requires an institutional level of care, can be safely cared for at home, and meets cost-effectiveness and the child’s own eligibility rules while parental income is disregarded. Qualification is not diagnosis based, so B-ALL alone is insufficient. Medical level-of-care approvals meeting the standard are now authorized for at least two years, and a member portal launched April 15, 2026.
What help you may get
Practical Items And Home Help
TEFRA/Katie Beckett Medicaid Program — practical items and home help
TEFRA/Katie Beckett may provide full Medicaid to a Georgia child age 18 or younger who lives at home, meets Social Security disability standards, requires an institutional level of care, can be safely cared for at home, and meets cost-effectiveness and the child’s own eligibility rules while parental income is disregarded. Qualification is not diagnosis based, so B-ALL alone is insufficient. Medical level-of-care approvals meeting the standard are now authorized for at least two years, and a member portal launched April 15, 2026.
Noncash help
Can cover
- Full Georgia Medicaid state-plan benefits for the approved child, subject to ordinary coverage and medical-necessity rules
Does not cover
- A separate package of home- and community-based waiver services solely by virtue of Katie Beckett enrollment
- Services excluded from or not medically necessary under Georgia Medicaid
- Unrestricted cash assistance
- The program establishes Medicaid coverage; it does not issue a cash grant to the family.
- Coverage is subject to financial renewal and periodic medical level-of-care review; qualifying medical determinations are authorized for at least two years under the current process.
Check the main eligibility rules
Diagnosis
B-ALL is in scope. A Georgia child with B-ALL may qualify only when the illness and treatment effects satisfy federal childhood-disability and institutional level-of-care standards and all other program rules; Georgia states that qualification is not diagnosis based.
Age
Age 0 to age 18, measured at application.
- The program covers eligible children age 18 or younger.
Treatment status
No specific treatment status is published.
- A provider must verify the patient or diagnosis.
- The child's physician must support that care can appropriately be provided in the home and provide cost-of-home-care information.
- Treating physicians and other clinical sources must supply the disability and institutional level-of-care evidence requested by the state.
- The child must meet Georgia Medicaid citizenship or legally residing non-citizen requirements for full benefits.
- Parental income is disregarded for TEFRA/Katie Beckett; the state reviews the child's own income under the applicable SSI-related Medicaid rules.
- The child's own income information remains part of the eligibility review.
- The official page does not publish a single family-income or FPL ceiling because parental deeming is waived.
- The estimated Medicaid cost of home care must be no more than the estimated cost of appropriate institutional care.
- The reviewed official TEFRA page does not list a program enrollment premium; families should confirm any Medicaid cost-sharing that applies to the child's coverage with the eligibility team.
Where you live and where your child is treated
Where your family lives
You must live in: GA.
- For full Medicaid benefits, the child must be a U.S. citizen or a legally residing non-citizen who meets Medicaid status requirements.
- The child must be a Georgia resident.
- The child must live at home rather than in an institution.
Where your child is treated
No treatment-location restriction is published.
How to get started
Does a social worker or care team need to start it? No. A required care-team start is not published; the family can use the available route below.
Who can start: Caregiver, Parent Or Guardian
- After the case is entered, use the Katie Beckett portal invitation to upload documents, monitor checklists and status, and communicate securely with the case worker.
- Complete and sign the current Georgia Medicaid/Katie Beckett application through Georgia Gateway, the Centralized Team, or a local DFCS office.
- Provide child identity, Georgia residency, citizenship or qualified status, insurance, income, and resource information requested for the Medicaid eligibility review.
- Respond to requests from both the eligibility and medical review components until Georgia issues a determination.
- Work with the treating physician and other clinical providers to submit disability, institutional level-of-care, home-care appropriateness, and cost-effectiveness records.
Ways to apply or ask
- Online Portal · Open form or page
- Online Portal · Open form or page
- Online Portal · Open form or page
Documents to prepare
- Child identity, Social Security number or proof of application, Georgia residency, and citizenship or qualified-status verification
- Child income, resource, and health-insurance information requested by the eligibility team
- Completed and signed Medicaid/Katie Beckett application
- Medical Necessity Level of Care Statement and applicable pediatric medical forms
- Physician-supported home-care plan and Katie Beckett Cost Effectiveness Form
- Treating-physician and clinical records supporting federal childhood disability and the applicable institutional level of care
- Georgia separately reviews Medicaid eligibility and the medical level-of-care record before establishing coverage.
- Once approved, Georgia Medicaid pays enrolled providers for covered and authorized care.
Availability and timing
| Program | Active |
|---|---|
| Applications | Open |
| Funding or space | Available |
| Application window | Rolling |
| Last checked | Aug 24, 2026 |
- A new Katie Beckett case-management portal launched April 15, 2026 for document upload and case communication after a case is entered.
- The official program page displayed active English and Spanish applications and the Georgia Gateway application path.
- The official page and Georgia Gateway accepted applications on the verification date.
Limitations and things to confirm
- Georgia expressly states that eligibility is not diagnosis based; B-ALL or cancer alone does not qualify a child.
- Individual Medicaid services still require covered providers and any applicable medical-necessity or prior-authorization review.
- Katie Beckett establishes Medicaid eligibility but is not itself a cash grant or a separate HCBS service package.
- Parental income and resources are disregarded, but the child's own income, resources, and all ordinary Medicaid nonfinancial rules are reviewed.
- The application requires sensitive identity, citizenship, financial, insurance, medical, disability, school or therapy, and home-care-cost information; use Georgia's secure portals or official submission routes.
- The child must meet both federal childhood-disability and institutional level-of-care standards while home care remains appropriate and cost-effective.
- The reviewed official TEFRA page does not publish a program premium or all child-level financial thresholds; confirm case-specific cost-sharing with the Centralized Team.
- Confirm disability, level of care, cost effectiveness, child financial rules, documents, timelines, and renewal.
Official sources
Program details were last verified Aug 24, 2026. Availability can change, so check the official program before applying.
- TEFRA/Katie Beckett Program - Updated 2025 · checked Aug 24, 2026
- Citizenship and Residency FAQs · checked Aug 24, 2026
- TEFRA/Katie Beckett Medicaid Program · checked Aug 24, 2026
- TEFRA/Katie Beckett Medicaid Program · checked Aug 24, 2026
- TEFRA/Katie Beckett Medicaid Program · checked Aug 24, 2026