Does Medicaid Cover Home Health Care in Georgia? Waivers and Waitlists

Yes, Medicaid does cover home health care in Georgia, but what it pays for depends on which part of the program you qualify for. Standard Georgia Medicaid covers skilled medical care at home — nursing visits and therapy — for members who are homebound and have a doctor’s order. Non-medical help with daily living, like bathing, dressing, or meal prep, is only covered if you qualify for one of the state’s Medicaid waiver programs, most of which have waiting lists.¹

What Standard Medicaid Covers at Home

Every Georgia Medicaid member has access to the state plan’s home health benefit. The Department of Community Health pays licensed home health agencies per visit for skilled nursing, physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, and medical social work.² Certified home health aide services are included too, but only when an aide works under the supervision of a registered nurse as part of a skilled care plan.

To qualify, three things have to line up: you have to be homebound, a physician has to order the services, and there has to be a written care plan documenting medical necessity. The plan is reviewed periodically.

What Georgia does not offer as a standalone state plan benefit is personal care. If someone only needs help with bathing, dressing, meals, or housekeeping and doesn’t need skilled medical care, the base Medicaid benefit won’t pay for it.¹ That gap is what the waiver programs fill.

Home and Community-Based Waivers

Georgia runs several Medicaid waivers that fund a broader set of in-home services for people who would otherwise need nursing home or institutional care. Each waiver targets a specific group, has its own eligibility rules and covered services, and has a limited number of slots. Enrollment is not automatic, and none of them are entitlements.

Elderly and Disabled Waiver: CCSP and SOURCE

The Elderly and Disabled Waiver Program is Georgia’s main waiver for older adults and people with physical disabilities. It runs on two tracks: the Community Care Services Program (CCSP) and Service Options Using Resources in a Community Environment (SOURCE). Both serve people who are 65 or older, or under 65 with a physical disability, and who need an intermediate nursing facility level of care.³

Covered services include personal care (bathing, dressing, mobility, grooming), adult day health, home-delivered meals, respite care for family caregivers, personal emergency response systems, skilled nursing, home health aides, assistive technology, and alternative living services in personal care homes.⁴ Participants can also use consumer-directed personal support, which lets them hire and manage their own caregivers instead of going through an agency.⁵

The financial rules differ between the two. CCSP uses an income limit of $2,982 per month for a single applicant (300% of the federal benefit rate) with a $2,000 asset limit. SOURCE has a lower income cap of $994 per month for an individual, tied to Supplemental Security Income.⁶ Both apply a 60-month look-back period on asset transfers. The primary home is generally exempt if the applicant lives there and the equity is $752,000 or less.

Independent Care Waiver Program

The Independent Care Waiver Program (ICWP) is for adults between 21 and 64 with severe physical disabilities or traumatic brain injuries who need a hospital or nursing home level of care. Covered services include personal support, home health, specialized medical equipment and supplies, counseling, emergency response systems, home modifications, and companion services.⁷ People whose primary diagnosis is a mental disorder are not eligible. Like the EDWP, ICWP allows self-direction of personal support services. Approval doesn’t guarantee immediate services; participants get them as funding becomes available.

NOW and COMP Waivers

The New Options Waiver (NOW) and Comprehensive Supports Waiver (COMP) serve people with intellectual or developmental disabilities such as autism, cerebral palsy, or epilepsy. Covered services include case management, personal support, home health, behavioral support, supported employment, respite, home modifications, transportation, and specialized medical equipment.⁸ COMP is for people with more intensive needs who require residential support in small group settings; NOW supports people living at home or with family.

The Waiting List Problem

Waivers are capped. When slots are full, applicants go on a waiting list, and waits can run for years. Many people don’t apply at all because they know how long the wait will be.⁹

The developmental disability waivers have the largest backlog. As of March 2025, more than 7,800 people were waiting for NOW or COMP slots.¹⁰ In late 2025, the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities proposed sorting the NOW/COMP list into three tiers based on urgency, and an advisory council recommended creating a new waiver category for people who don’t currently qualify for NOW or COMP but still need support. As of early 2026, these are recommendations with no implementation timeline.¹¹

For CCSP, SOURCE, and ICWP, the state hasn’t published specific waitlist figures. Applicants are told they’ll be contacted when their name reaches the top.³

Can a Family Member Get Paid to Provide Care?

In many cases, yes. Through the consumer-directed options in the EDWP and other waivers, adult children, siblings, and parents of adult participants can be hired as personal care assistants. Structured family caregiving is also available, which pays and supports a family member (other than a spouse) who provides 24-hour care in their own home.¹²

Spouses are treated differently. Federal and state rules generally bar spouses from being paid caregivers, though under CCSP a spouse may be approved in exceptional circumstances with prior approval from the Department of Community Health.¹³ Any paid caregiver has to complete training, pass a background check, and keep documentation of the services provided.

How to Apply

The right application path depends on which program you need.

Standard Medicaid, including the state plan home health benefit: apply online at gateway.ga.gov, by phone at 877-423-4746, in person at a local Division of Family and Children Services office, or by mail. A decision typically comes within 45 days, or up to 60 days if a disability determination is needed.¹⁴
CCSP or SOURCE: call the Georgia Aging and Disability Resource Connections at 1-888-669-7195, or contact a local Area Agency on Aging. A phone screening determines eligibility and waiting list placement.³
ICWP: call Alliant Health Solutions at 1-888-669-7195 and select the ICWP option for a screening.⁷
NOW or COMP: contact a regional DBHDD field office. A screening assessment is scheduled within 14 business days of receiving the application.⁸

For any waiver, expect to provide proof of income, asset documentation (including bank statements covering the previous 60 months for programs with a look-back period), citizenship documents, Social Security numbers, and medical records or a physician’s statement confirming care needs.

A Word on Estate Recovery

If you’re 55 or older and receive Medicaid-funded home or community services in Georgia, the state can seek to recover the cost from your estate after death. That can include claims against a home, land, a vehicle, or other assets. Recovery cannot happen while a surviving spouse, a child under 21, or a blind or permanently disabled child is still living.¹⁵ It’s worth factoring in before you decide which program to pursue.

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MedicaidLongTermCare.org. Georgia Medicaid Long-Term Care Eligibility
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Georgia.gov. Apply for Independent Care Waiver Program
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Georgia.gov. Apply for NOW and COMP
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New Disabled South. Care
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Georgia Recorder. Georgia Agency Proposes Changes to Waiting List for Services for People with Disabilities
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WABE. Georgia Agency Proposes Changes to Waiting List for Services for People with Disabilities
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Georgia Family Council. Medicare vs Medicaid Family Caregivers
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Georgia Family Council. Spouses Cannot Be Paid Caregivers in Georgia
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Georgia.gov. Apply for Medicaid
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Georgia Legal Aid. What Should I Know About Medicaid Waivers for Home Healthcare in Georgia