Search      Need Help with Your Search? Find Legal Help On Income Help (Welfare/TANF/Social Security/SSI) Related Resources An Overview of Temporary Assistance to Needy Families and Public Housing Authorities By: Georgia Legal Services Program® TANF Sanctions: What Are My Rights? By: Georgia Legal Services Program® Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) and Public Housing By: Georgia Legal Services Program® more...

Facts You Should Know About Medicaid And Tanf
If You Have Children

[TANF is the cash aid program called Temporary Assistance for Needy Families.  Before welfare reform, it was the cash aid program called AFDC.  Families used to get AFDC and Medicaid at the same time.  Under welfare reform, these programs are separate.]

 You have the right to apply for Medicaid NOW.

You do not have to wait to apply for Medicaid until you have searched for a job or done other things TANF now requires.  (In fact, you do not have to apply for TANF at all to get Medicaid.)  Medicaid is separate from TANF.  Federal law says the state must allow you to apply without delay.  You may bring someone with you to help with the application.  You may also be able to get Medicaid to pay medical bills you had for care during the three months before you applied.

The DFCS office must process your application for Medicaid.  It must give you an answer about your family's eligibility within 45 days. 

The 45-day deadline applies to almost all families seeking Medicaid.  (The deadline can be 90 days only if DFCS has to decide whether you are disabled.)  Find out what information DFCS needs to decide your eligibility and try to get it right away.  Ask for help getting the information if you need help. 

You can apply for Medicaid for your children and for yourself.

Both you and your children can get Medicaid if you qualify under the Medicaid/AFDC rules that were in effect as of July 16, 1996.  These are called the "pre-welfare reform" rules.  This does not mean you had to be receiving Medicaid at that time in order to get it now.   It just means that you have to meet the old guidelines for income and  resources, and also the other rules about who can get Medicaid.  Georgia calls this  new category of Medicaid "Low Income Medicaid."  It allows  people who could have received Medicaid and a check under the old AFDC program to get Medicaid now, even though there is no longer an AFDC program.  

Remember also that children under age 19 and pregnant women can still get Medicaid under the Right from the Start (RSM) program, if they meet the income guidelines.  However, if you are an adult and you are not pregnant, it is important to ask your DFCS worker if your whole family can be eligible under the "pre-welfare reform" Medicaid guidelines.  If so, you will all get Medicaid.   Even some two-parent families may be eligible.

If you get "Low Income Medicaid," and then go to work, you and your children may still stay on Medicaid for a year.

If you receive "Low Income Medicaid" for at least three months, then go to work or increase your income from work so that you no longer meet the guidelines, you and your family should be able to stay on Medicaid for a year.  This is called "transitional medical assistance."  You will have to file some reports about your income during the year to keep getting the Medicaid.  (You should also be able to stay on Medicaid for four months if your income goes over the limits because of child support or alimony.)   Your children may get Medicaid even after the one-year period under Right from the Start Medicaid. 

If you think your Medicaid application is not being handled correctly or that your family is not getting Medicaid you believe you qualify for, ask for a fair hearing.