On May 9, 2026, Georgia Governor Brian Kemp vetoed $9.2 million in state funding that would have added 900 new slots to the NOW and COMP waiver programs. These are the Medicaid waivers that help people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) live at home or in community settings instead of institutions.

Georgia already has one of the country's longest IDD waiting lists. The veto came as part of approximately $80 million in cuts to state healthcare agencies, driven by a $1.3 billion state budget shortfall caused by income tax cuts (H.B. 463) and property tax caps (S.B. 33). The same veto package also withheld $1.4 million for Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) for elderly residents, affecting 3,200 people on that waitlist as of March 2026.

If your family was counting on one of those 900 slots this year, here's what you need to know and do.

What the NOW and COMP Waivers Are

Georgia operates two primary Medicaid waivers for people with IDD:

NOW (New Options Waiver): Serves individuals with intellectual disabilities or related conditions living in their own homes or with family. Covers personal care, respite, behavioral supports, day services, and supported employment.

COMP (Comprehensive Supports Waiver): Serves individuals with higher support needs, including those transitioning from institutions or at risk of institutionalization. Covers residential supports, intensive behavioral services, skilled nursing, and 24-hour care.

Both waivers use Medicaid dollars, but they require state matching funds. The vetoed $9.2 million was the state's share. Without it, no new slots open.

What the Veto Means for the 900 Families Who Would Have Received Slots

Those 900 slots don't disappear from the budget entirely: the funding was vetoed before allocation. If you were told you'd receive a slot this year, that expectation is now incorrect unless the Georgia legislature overrides the veto, which requires a two-thirds vote in both chambers and hasn't happened yet.

Your position on the waiting list doesn't change. You don't go backward. But the line isn't moving forward at the rate it was supposed to.

Georgia's Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities (DBHDD) administers the waitlist. They haven't published updated slot allocation timelines since the veto. Call them directly to confirm your current status and ask when your slot is now expected to open: (404) 463-7272.

How Families Currently on the Georgia IDD Waiting List Can Check Their Status and Escalate

Check Your Waitlist Status

Call DBHDD's Customer Service Line: (404) 463-7272. Ask for:

• Your current waitlist position
• The date you were added
• Your priority category (urgent, non-urgent)
• When DBHDD estimates your slot will open given the veto

Keep a log of the call: date, time, representative name, and what they told you.

Escalate to Urgent Priority If You Qualify

Georgia uses a priority system. If your family situation has changed since you first applied, you may now qualify for urgent priority. Urgent criteria include:

• Caregiver health crisis (hospitalization, terminal diagnosis)
• Loss of primary caregiver (death, incapacitation)
• Abuse or neglect in current setting
• Eviction or homelessness
• Aging out of school-based services with no alternative

To escalate, submit a written request to DBHDD with documentation (doctor's letter, court records, school transition plan). Send it certified mail and keep a copy.

File for Crisis Services

Georgia offers Crisis Individual and Family Support (CIFS) for families in immediate need who don't yet have a waiver slot. CIFS provides short-term respite, behavioral consultation, and family training while you wait. It's not a substitute for a full waiver, but it's something.

Apply through your local Community Service Board. Find yours at dbhdd.georgia.gov.

Alternative Programs and Advocacy Resources Available to Georgia Families

Katie Beckett Medicaid

If your child is under 18 and medically eligible for institutional care but living at home, Georgia's Katie Beckett program provides Medicaid coverage without counting parental income. It doesn't replace the waiver services, but it covers medical care, therapies, and some durable medical equipment.

Apply through the Georgia Division of Family and Children Services (DFCS): (877) 423-4746.

TEFRA (Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act) Option

Georgia offers TEFRA as another Medicaid pathway for children with disabilities under 18 living at home. It covers medical services but not waiver supports like respite or day services.

More at medicaid.georgia.gov.

Parent to Parent of Georgia

Peer support organization that connects families navigating IDD services. They maintain updated lists of emergency respite programs, legal aid resources, and legislative advocacy campaigns. They're also tracking the veto fallout and organizing family testimony for the next legislative session.

Contact: p2pga.org or (770) 451-5484.

Arc of Georgia

Advocacy organization that monitors state disability policy. They publish plain-language updates on waiver slot allocations, budget hearings, and legislative timelines.

thearcofgeorgia.org

Private Pay and Grant-Funded Services

While you wait for a waiver slot, some families patch together private pay services using grants. Organizations like the Special Needs Trust and the Georgia Council on Developmental Disabilities maintain small grant programs for respite and equipment. They won't cover everything a waiver would, but they help.

Check gcdd.org and local disability nonprofits.

How to Contact the Georgia Legislature and Governor's Office

You can contact your state legislators and the Governor's office to voice your position on the veto and request that funding be restored in the next budget cycle.

Find Your State Senator and Representative

Visit openstates.org/find_your_legislator and enter your address. Write down their names, office phone numbers, and email addresses.

What to Say

Keep it direct:

• Your name and county
• That you're on the NOW or COMP waiting list (include how long)
• That the veto affects your family directly
• One specific impact: lost respite, caregiver burnout, can't work because of care demands
• Request: restore the $9.2 million in state match funding for IDD waivers in the next budget

Don't editorialize about the tax cuts or property caps. You're asking them to fund the waitlist, not debate fiscal policy. The ask is narrow and specific.

Contact Information

Governor Brian Kemp:

Phone: (404) 656-1776 Email: georgia.gov/contact-us

Georgia State Capitol Switchboard:

(404) 656-2000 (connects you to any legislator's office)

Call during business hours (8 AM – 5 PM ET). Email gets logged but phone calls get counted faster.

How This State-Level Veto Pattern Applies to Families in Other States

Georgia isn't unique. This is the third state in 2026 to veto or delay IDD waiver expansions after enacting state tax cuts that created budget shortfalls. Idaho cut $22 million from Medicaid disability services in March. Maryland delayed $250 million in DDA funding in April. The pattern is consistent:

1. State passes income or property tax reduction
2. Revenue drops below projections
3. Medicaid becomes the largest discretionary line item
4. IDD waivers and HCBS programs get delayed or cut because they're optional under federal Medicaid rules (unlike acute care, which is mandatory)

If your state passed significant tax cuts in the last 12 months, check your Medicaid agency's budget hearing schedule. Waiver programs are vulnerable when state revenue underperforms. Medicaid waiver waiting lists exist in 40 states, and most use state general funds as the match. When those funds tighten, the waitlist slows or stops.

You can track your state's Medicaid budget hearings through your legislature's website or by contacting your state's Medicaid director's office directly. If cuts are proposed, you have a window to testify or submit written comments before they're finalized.

What Georgia Families Should Do Now

Don't wait for the legislature to restore funding on its own timeline. Take these steps this week:

1. Call DBHDD at (404) 463-7272 and confirm your waitlist status and revised timeline.
2. If you qualify for urgent priority, submit the escalation request in writing with documentation.
3. Apply for Katie Beckett or TEFRA if your child is under 18 and you haven't already.
4. Contact your state senator and representative. One call, one email. Log the date you did it.
5. Connect with Parent to Parent of Georgia or the Arc of Georgia for peer support and legislative updates.
6. If your family is in crisis now, apply for CIFS through your local Community Service Board.

The 900 slots weren't a promise: they were a budget line that the veto turned into a future negotiation. Your job is to make sure your family stays visible in that negotiation and to access every alternative support available while the line stays frozen.