How to switch your GAPP nursing agency in Georgia

You have the right to change GAPP agencies, and your child’s approved hours move with you. Choose the new agency first. It requests the transfer from Alliant Health Solutions, the transfer starts on the first day of a month, and your current agency must keep providing care for at least 30 days if you want it to.

Families change agencies for all kinds of reasons: hours that are approved but not staffed, a different nurse every week, calls that go unanswered. Whatever the reason, you do not need your current agency’s permission, and you should not lose a single approved hour in the move.

Your rights

• You choose the agency. Parents and guardians have a right to choose or transfer agencies without consequences from the current agency (GAPP manual §808).
• Care continues while you move. Your current agency must provide at least 30 days of service if you want it to (§808).
• You can complain without fear. Every GAPP family has the right to voice grievances about care without retaliation, and to review the child’s records on request (§621.1).

Before you switch

Two things are worth checking, because each can solve the problem without a full move:

• Is the problem staffing? An agency that cannot staff your child’s approved hours must tell you and refer you to agencies that can (§822). Ask your current agency, in writing, which shifts it can and cannot cover.
• Would sharing work? Skilled nursing hours can be shared between two GAPP agencies under one set of physician’s orders. Personal support hours cannot be split (§823). If your current agency covers days well but not nights, a second agency for the gaps may be the answer.

How a transfer works, step by step

1. Choose the new agency. The state keeps a list of GAPP-approved agencies, and the GAPP Program Specialist at the Department of Community Health can help at (404) 683-5113 or GAPP.inquiries@dch.ga.gov. Before you commit, confirm the new agency has nurses or aides in your county who can cover your child’s hours now. Our guide to choosing a GAPP provider has the questions to ask.
2. Sign the transfer form. The new agency will ask you to sign the state’s notification form for transferring or sharing hours.
3. The new agency requests the transfer. It submits the request to Alliant Health Solutions under its own provider number (§820, §822).
4. Mind the calendar. Transfers begin on the first day of a month. The request has to be in by close of business on the third business day before the month ends, and nothing is processed in the last two business days (§820). Miss that window and the move slips a month.
5. Wait for the approval letter. The new agency should not start until the transfer is approved (§820). Until then, your current agency keeps providing care.
6. Plan the renewal. Only the hours currently approved move, and only for the rest of the current approval period. The new agency submits a full packet 30 days before that period ends. If your child’s needs have changed, the new agency files a change request after the transfer (§820).

If your agency ends services

An agency that wants to stop serving your child must give you written notice at least 30 calendar days before the date (§840). Use that time to choose a new agency and get the transfer in before the month-end cutoff.

If you are thinking about moving to ARZN, tell us about your child and we will tell you honestly whether we can staff your child’s hours in your county before you sign anything. The full program rules are in our GAPP guide.

Common questions

Can I change GAPP agencies?

Yes. Parents and guardians have a right to choose or transfer GAPP agencies without consequences from the current agency. If you change, your current agency must keep providing service for at least 30 days if you want it to.

Will my child lose their GAPP hours if we switch?

No. The hours currently approved transfer to the new agency for the rest of the current approval period. The new agency then submits a full renewal packet 30 days before that period ends.

How long does a GAPP transfer take?

Transfers start on the first day of a month. The request has to be in by close of business on the third business day before the end of the month, and transfers are not processed in the last two business days. The new agency starts once the transfer is approved.

Can two agencies share my child's GAPP hours?

Skilled nursing hours can be shared between two GAPP agencies under one set of physician's orders. Personal support hours cannot be split between two agencies.

Sources

1. Georgia Department of Community Health, Part II Policies and Procedures for Georgia Pediatric Program (GAPP) In-Home Nursing, July 1, 2025 edition, published on GAMMIS under Provider Manuals.
2. Georgia Department of Community Health, Georgia Pediatric Program (GAPP) provider presentation, June 2023, published on the Georgia Medicaid Management Information System portal.
3. Georgia Medicaid, Waiver Programs.
4. Georgia Department of Community Health, Community Based Services.

Please read. This article is general information about a public program, not medical, legal or financial advice, and it is not a decision about your child. Program rules change. Confirm anything that matters with the Georgia Department of Community Health or with a GAPP participating agency before you rely on it.