What is a Medicaid Waiver?
For persons with limited financial resources, Medicaid pays for nursing home care. For those who wish to live at home or in assisted living, sometimes Medicaid will pay for care in those locations if it can be obtained at a lower cost than in a nursing home. It does this through Medicaid Waivers.
Waiver Description
For qualified low-income seniors, SOURCE helps cover the costs of both medical care and non-medical personal care.
SOURCE is an acronym for Service Options Using Resources in a Community Environment. The program is designed for frail elderly and disabled Georgians who require the level of care typically provided in a nursing home. However, this program allows eligible individuals to receive care in their homes or communities (such as in assisted living facilities, also referred to as personal care homes) and avoid having to use long-term nursing home care. For some very low-income participants, this program provides both medical care and non-medical personal care services.
Originally, this program was only available in certain areas of the state, but now it is open to residents statewide. As of 2021, approximately 19,000 Georgians receive assistance under this program. However, even with increased capacity, it is possible that a waiting list for services may exist. If an individual is already on Medicaid, the general enrollment time is two months.
This waiver is operated under Georgia’s Elderly and Disabled Medicaid Waiver and provides home and community based services. It is administered by the Georgia Department of Community Health.
Eligibility Guidelines
General Requirements
To be eligible for the SOURCE Waiver, an individual must be 65 years of age or older, or if he or she is under the age of 65, must be physically disabled. As the waiver is intended to divert individuals from nursing home placement, a requirement is that they need nursing home level care. To make this determination, an assessment must be completed.
Financial Requirements
Income Limits
Income and savings also play a role in the eligibility requirements. This Georgia Medicaid waiver has both income limits and financial resource (asset) limits. For 2024, the income limit for an individual is $943 per month — which is the Supplemental Security Income rate (SSI) / Federal Benefit Rate (FBR) — and $1,415 per month for couples.
Asset Limits
The individual asset limit is $2,000, and $3,000 for couples, but several assets are considered “non-countable,” or exempt. This includes the applicant’s home, given the applicant lives in the home and his/her home equity interest is under $713,000 (in 2024) or a non-applicant spouse lives in the home.
Other exempt assets include burial contracts, an automobile, life insurance policies, household goods, and personal items such as clothing. “Countable” or non-exempt assets include total cash on hand, bank accounts (checking and savings), and other liquid (easily convertible to cash) investments and retirement accounts if not in payout status.
Unlike income, a couple’s assets are considered jointly owned. (Learn more about Medicaid and joint assets here). Please note that there is an exception in Georgia; the individual retirement account of the applicant’s spouse is not counted.
Over the Financial Limits?
It is possible to receive Medicaid even if one’s income and / or assets are over the limit(s). Georgia residents who are over the income limit can create a Miller Trust, also called a Qualified Income Trust. With this option, money deposited into the trust no longer counts as income toward Medicaid eligibility.
Another option is to purchase an annuity (converts a lump sum of cash into an income stream) or an irrevocable funeral trust so that one’s countable assets are reduced to within the acceptable limit. Persons hoping to qualify using these approaches should be aware that legal or financial expertise is strongly suggested. One can find Medicaid planning assistance here.
Georgia residents may also find assistance from the CCSP Waiver.
Benefits and Services
Services are determined on a case-by-case basis. In addition to service coordination, services can include any of the following:
- 24-hour Medical Access
- Home Health Services – skilled nursing, home health aides, therapies (physical, occupational, and speech)
- Adult Day Health / Adult Day Care
- Alternative Living Services / Assisted Living Services (does not include room and board costs)
- Emergency Response System
- Home Delivered Meals
- Personal Support Services – housecleaning, shopping, laundry, assistance with activities of daily living, such as eating, dressing, moving about, etc.
- Respite Care – both in-home and out-of-home
How to Apply / Learn More
More information about this program can be found on the Georgia SOURCE Factsheet. One can apply for the SOURCE waiver by calling 866-552-4464 or by contacting the Aging and Disability Resource Connection. A list of contact information is available here.
