What Does EDWP Cover?Every Service in Georgia's Elderly and Disabled Waiver

EDWP covers the home and community services that help an older or disabled Georgian stay out of a nursing home: personal care at home, respite, adult day health, home-delivered meals, nursing and therapy visits, emergency response, Structured Family Caregiving, alternative living and care coordination. EDWP is the Elderly and Disabled Waiver Program, run by the Georgia Department of Community Health (DCH).

No member gets every service. A care coordinator builds a care plan with the member and family, and the plan lists only the services that person needs. This page lists each service in plain words, so you know what to ask for.

EDWP services at a glance

• Help at home: personal support, consumer-directed personal support, nursing and therapy visits
• Help for family caregivers: in-home respite, out-of-home respite, Structured Family Caregiving
• Care outside the home: adult day health, alternative living services
• Safety and food: emergency response systems, home-delivered meals
• Holding it together: traditional or enhanced case management
• What A1-GA provides: personal support (including in-home respite) and Structured Family Caregiving

Who can get EDWP services?

Services start only after a person is admitted to EDWP. Georgia.gov sets out who qualifies. The person must:

• Be eligible for Georgia Medicaid, or potentially eligible after admission to EDWP
• Be 65 or older, or under 65 and meet the disability requirements
• Meet a nursing home level of care
• Choose services at home or in the community instead of a nursing home
• Be in only one Medicaid waiver at a time

One more rule matters once services begin. Georgia's DFCS Medicaid manual says an EDWP member must receive at least one waiver service, and must receive waiver services in each calendar month to stay eligible. So the care plan always includes something.

What services does EDWP cover? The full list

This table follows the service list in the DCH EDWP fact sheet, with skilled nursing added from DCH's current provider manual. Descriptions are paraphrased from Georgia's waiver documents.

Help at home

Personal Support Services bring an aide into the home on a schedule set by the care plan. For what an aide does and does not do, read our guide to Personal Support Services in Georgia.

Georgia's waiver also names Extended Personal Support (PSSX) as a form of personal support. With the consumer-directed option, the member acts as the employer. A financial management services provider handles payroll, taxes and records.

Medical care at home comes in two forms. Home-Delivered Services bring nursing, therapy and aide visits from a licensed home health agency, as a doctor orders. Skilled Nursing Services bring a registered nurse, or in some cases a licensed practical nurse, from a licensed private home care provider.

Help for family caregivers

Respite gives a family caregiver a break, either at home through personal support or overnight in an approved facility. Our page on respite care in Atlanta for families on Medicaid covers both. If a relative already lives with the member and gives daily care, Structured Family Caregiving pairs them with a health coach and support from an approved agency.

Care outside the home

Adult Day Health lets a member spend the day at a center while family works or rests. The waiver also allows physical, occupational and speech therapy at the center when a doctor orders it. See adult day care in Atlanta through Georgia Medicaid for how centers work. Alternative Living Services cover supervised care in a licensed group or family home, for people who cannot stay in their own home.

Safety, meals and coordination

Emergency Response Services link the member to help around the clock through a device they wear or keep at home. Home-Delivered Meals bring prepared meals to people who cannot cook for themselves. Case management ties it all together. A care coordinator arranges each service and checks in on how the plan is working.

Which EDWP services does A1-GA Healthcare Agency provide?

We focus on two parts of EDWP, so we can do them well:

• Personal Support Services

  Trained aides who help at home with daily care, including in-home respite for family caregivers

• Structured Family Caregiving

  Support, coaching and pay for a relative who lives with and cares for the member

Other services on the list, such as adult day health, meals, emergency response and nursing visits, come from other approved providers. Your loved one can use A1-GA for personal support or SFC and other providers for the rest. The care coordinator helps put the pieces together.

How are EDWP services chosen for your loved one?

DCH describes a simple order. The person contacts the Area Agency on Aging. Then the care coordinator and the member or their representative work out which services are needed.

1. 1

   Phone screening

   Call 866-552-4464. In metro Atlanta, the Atlanta Regional Commission runs EDWP intake.

2. 2

   Waiting list, if needed

   EDWP is a budgeted program. Eligible people may wait until funding opens.

3. 3

   In-home assessment

   A care coordination agency visits, confirms the level of care and learns about daily needs.

4. 4

   Care plan

   The coordinator and family agree which services from the list fit, and how often.

5. 5

   Choose providers

   You pick an approved provider for each service. Services begin, and the plan is reviewed over time.

How A1-GA Healthcare Agency helps

A1-GA Healthcare Agency is a Georgia DCH-approved Medicaid home care provider in Norcross. We have provided in-home care since 2008 and staffed caregivers since 2004. We deliver EDWP home care in Atlanta through personal support, in-home respite and Structured Family Caregiving.

If you are not sure which services your loved one needs, call us. We will explain the options in plain words and how to ask for them. You can also start with our eligibility form.

• Phone: 678-446-1832
• Hours: Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm
• Email: [email protected]
• Office: 4505 Peachtree Industrial Blvd, Suite K, Norcross, GA 30092