GAPP Program Education
Atlanta Pediatric Healthcare
GAPP stands for the Georgia Pediatric Program. It is a Georgia Medicaid program that helps eligible medically fragile children receive medically necessary care in the home setting. The program serves eligible members under age 20 years and 11 months, and members age out on their 21st birthday.
The goal of GAPP is to help children with complex medical needs receive medically necessary care in a familiar home setting instead of remaining in a hospital or facility longer than needed.
GAPP is for children with medical needs that require skilled nursing, personal care support, or behavioral health aide services based on medical necessity. The child must meet Medicaid eligibility rules and the requested services must be supported by physician documentation and medical necessity review.
Children who may qualify often have complex medical needs such as:
- Tracheostomy care
- Ventilator care
- Oxygen dependence
- G-tube or feeding support
- Complex medication needs
- Neurological conditions
- Chronic respiratory needs
- Prematurity-related complications
- Multiple diagnoses requiring ongoing skilled care
Yes. GAPP is a Medicaid program. If your child does not currently have Medicaid, you may need to explore Medicaid eligibility first. If your child does not currently have Medicaid, we can help explain where to begin and what information may be needed.
Yes, it is possible. A child may have private insurance and still qualify for Medicaid through Katie Beckett if eligibility requirements are met. Because GAPP is a Medicaid program, active Medicaid eligibility is still required before GAPP services can be approved.
Katie Beckett, also called TEFRA/Katie Beckett in Georgia, is a Medicaid eligibility pathway for certain children with disabilities or complex medical needs. It can allow a child to qualify for Medicaid even when the parents income and resources would normally make the child ineligible. Official information and applications are available through Georgia Medicaid.
Yes. Hospitals, discharge planners, social workers, and physicians often help families begin the process by connecting them with a GAPP-approved provider agency. Atlanta Pediatric Healthcare can coordinate with the hospital and physician when a child is preparing to transition home, or a parent is seeking pediatric homecare options.
Review times can vary. The July 2026 GAPP manual states that Alliant has 7 days to review an application once the packet is complete.
GAPP hours are reviewed based on medical necessities, physician orders, and the child’s care needs. The physician’s plan of treatment recommends the skilled nursing or personal care support hours the child needs. Medicaid or the child’s Care Management Organization reviews the request and determines the number of hours approved.
At Atlanta Pediatric Homecare, we work to help families receive the full benefit of the hours approved. Approval is only one part of the process. Families also need a provider who can work to staff those hours with trained, reliable nurses.
Approval means Medicaid has authorized services, but families still need an agency with nurses available to staff the approved hours.
At Atlanta Pediatric Homecare, one of our priorities is working to cover approved nursing hours with trained, consistent, and reliable nurses whenever possible. We understand that families worked hard to receive those hours, and those hours exist to support the child and family at home.
Please watch the video above these FAQs for our full explanation. In general, approval is followed by care coordination, care plan review, staffing discussions, physician communication, and scheduling the start of care.
Yes. Families have the right to choose their GAPP provider. It is important to ask questions before choosing because provider transfers are now limited to once every three months. You are not required to use the first agency suggested to you, and you may ask questions before choosing a provider.
Download our “Questions to Ask Before Choosing a GAPP Provider” guide to help you in making your choice.