What documents do you need to apply for Georgia's Medicaid waiver?

Gather these before anyone asks

Applications stall on missing paper more than on anything else. Nothing below is difficult to find; it is just easier to find it in a calm week than in the week a caseworker is waiting on you.

Copies are usually acceptable. Keep the originals, keep a copy of everything you send, and put the whole thing in one folder that one person in the family owns.

You do not need a complete folder before you make the first call. Gather and call at the same time.

Identity and residence

• Photo ID or driver’s license - establishes who the person is.
• Social Security card or number - required for every Medicaid application.
• Birth certificate - proves age and identity where ID is unavailable or unclear.
• Proof of Georgia residence - a utility bill, lease, or mortgage statement. Waiver programs are state programs, so residence has to be established.
• Proof of citizenship or immigration status - a passport or naturalization papers where a birth certificate does not cover it.
• Marriage certificate, and a death certificate for a deceased spouse - these matter for spousal rules and for survivor benefits.

Missing something? Vital records offices issue certified copies of birth, marriage and death certificates. Social Security can replace a card. Start those requests early, because they take their own time.

Income

• Social Security award letter - the current year’s letter, showing the exact benefit.
• Pension or retirement statements - including any survivor or spousal pension.
• Annuity documents - the contract as well as the payment statement.
• Veterans benefit letters - VA pensions and aid and attendance payments count as income.
• Wage or self-employment records, if the person still works.
• Rental or interest income records - anything that arrives regularly.

Missing something? Social Security can reissue a current benefit verification letter, often the same day. Pension administrators can produce a statement on request.

Assets

• Bank statements - checking and savings, several months of them.
• Investment and retirement account statements - brokerage accounts, IRAs, certificates of deposit.
• Life insurance policies - the policy itself, showing face value and any cash value.
• Burial plot or prepaid funeral contracts - these are treated differently from other assets, so produce the paperwork rather than leaving them out.
• Deeds or property tax statements for any real estate, including the home.
• Vehicle titles or registrations.
• Records of anything sold or given away in recent years - transfers below fair value are reviewed, and having the paperwork is far better than being asked to explain from memory.

Missing something? Banks produce statement copies on request. County tax offices hold property records. If a transfer happened and nobody has documentation, raise it with an elder law attorney rather than hoping it goes unnoticed.

Insurance

• Medicare card, and the Medicare Advantage or supplement card if there is one.
• Medicaid card or number, if the person is already enrolled.
• Any private or employer health insurance cards.
• Long-term care insurance policy, if one exists - it may pay for some of what is needed regardless of the waiver.
• Prescription drug plan details.

Medical

• A current medication list - names, doses, times, and who prescribes them. This is the single most useful page in the folder.
• A list of diagnoses, with rough dates.
• Names and contact details for every doctor, including specialists.
• Recent hospital or rehabilitation discharge paperwork.
• Records of falls, hospital admissions, or emergency visits in the past year.
• Equipment in use - walker, wheelchair, hospital bed, oxygen, lift.
• A written note of what help the person needs each day and how often - written over a week, in times rather than impressions. Not a formal document, and often the most accurate thing in the file.

Missing something? Doctors’ offices provide records on request, though they may charge and they may take weeks. Ask now, not later.

Legal and authority

• Power of attorney - financial and healthcare, if they exist.
• Guardianship or conservatorship orders, if a court has appointed someone.
• Advance directive for healthcare or living will.
• Trust documents, if any trust exists.
• Representative payee paperwork, if someone manages the person’s Social Security.

Missing something? If nobody holds legal authority and the person can no longer make their own decisions, that is a problem to raise with an elder law attorney early rather than at the point a signature is needed.

How to keep it

One folder, one owner, and a copy of everything that leaves the house. Keep a dated log at the front recording who asked for what and when you sent it. Renewals and reassessments come back to the same categories, and a folder that already exists turns each of those into a short afternoon.