Georgia PeachCare for Kids: Eligibility, Premiums, Benefits 2026

If you are raising a grandchild in Georgia, PeachCare for Kids is the state program that can cover that child's health care. It is Georgia's Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), open to children up to 247 percent of the federal poverty level, with modest income-based premiums and no premium at all for children under age six.1

Raising a grandchild or other young relative often means becoming responsible for their health coverage, sometimes with little warning. PeachCare for Kids is the program that fills the gap for working-income households in Georgia: it covers a child whose household earns too much for children's Medicaid but cannot easily afford private insurance. This guide answers the questions a caregiver in that situation actually has, the income limits, what the premiums cost in 2026, what is covered, and exactly how to apply.

Key Takeaways

In This Guide

• Key Takeaways
• Who Georgia PeachCare for Kids Covers
• 2026 Income Limits
• What the Premiums Cost in 2026
• What Copays Apply
• What Georgia PeachCare for Kids Covers
• How PeachCare Compares to Children's Medicaid
• How to Apply
• Renewals and Keeping Coverage
• If a Child Has a Disability: Katie Beckett
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Who to Call in Georgia
• Learn More

Who Georgia PeachCare for Kids Covers

PeachCare for Kids is Georgia's separate CHIP program. The Georgia Department of Community Health (DCH) administers it, and the Division of Family and Children Services (DFCS) handles eligibility intake. It covers children under age 19 who have no other current coverage and whose household income is too high for children's Medicaid but at or below 247 percent of the federal poverty level.2

For a grandparent or relative caregiver, the important point is that you don't have to be the parent to apply. The DFCS Medicaid manual treats an adult who is related to a child by blood, adoption or marriage, cares for the child in their own home, and is not the child's parent as the child's caretaker, whether or not you claim the child on your tax return. When a child lives with a caretaker and the family applies, DFCS first checks whether the child and the caretaker qualify for Parent/Caretaker Medicaid; if you don't, DFCS leaves you out of the child's household and considers the child as a household of one for children's Medicaid.3

The child must be a U.S. citizen or in an eligible immigrant category, and original documents may be needed to prove it. The child must not have other current coverage or be eligible for Medicaid, and PeachCare verifies household income at application and again at each annual renewal.2

2026 Income Limits

Georgia sets children's coverage by age, with children's Medicaid covering the lower-income bands and PeachCare covering the gap above those limits up to 247 percent of the federal poverty level. Every published source agrees on that 247 percent PeachCare ceiling and on a 149 percent Medicaid limit for children ages 1 through 5. They disagree on how the other Medicaid limits are labelled by age.2

Georgia's Medicaid agency lists its Right from the Start Medicaid (RSM) limits as 220 percent of the federal poverty level for infants under age one, 149 percent for children ages 1 through 5, and 205 percent for children under age 19. The federal CMS eligibility table, stated as of December 1, 2023, gives Georgia 205 percent for infants, 149 percent for ages 1 through 5, and 133 percent for ages 6 through 18, and puts 220 percent on pregnant women instead. That gap matters for a school-age child whose household falls between 133 and 205 percent, who would land on Medicaid under one reading and on PeachCare under the other. No source we have read settles which labelling DFCS applies, and you don't need to settle it before applying: DCH says children under the Medicaid limits are placed on the right type of Medicaid, children within the PeachCare limits are placed on PeachCare, and no separate application is needed. National tables such as KFF's show each Georgia band five points higher because they build in the standard 5 percent income disregard.2

PeachCare's income test is 247 percent of the federal poverty guidelines, and DCH says the dollar amounts based on it are updated annually. DCH's PeachCare eligibility page, as read in October 2026, still printed a limit of $6,422 a month, or $77,064 a year, for a household of four, and no source we have read states the dollar amounts Georgia applies to 2026 applications.2 The 2026 federal guideline for a household of four is $33,000, and 247 percent of that comes to more than DCH's printed figure, so treat that table as an older published figure, not the current limit. HHS leaves it to each program to decide which year's guideline it applies. If your household's income is near or somewhat above DCH's printed figure, apply and let DCH decide rather than ruling the child out yourself.4

If the household is over the PeachCare limit, the child may still qualify for another Georgia health program or for coverage through the Health Insurance Marketplace, and DCH may forward your information to those programs.2

What the Premiums Cost in 2026

PeachCare charges a monthly premium per child on a six-tier sliding scale based on household income as a percentage of the federal poverty level, with a monthly cap on what one family pays. The 2026 schedule from the Georgia DFCS policy manual is below.

No premium and no copayment is charged for children under age six, children in foster care, or American Indian or Alaska Native children.1

If you are a relative caregiver on a fixed or limited income, the family cap matters once several children are enrolled: whatever the number of children, you never pay more than the cap for your tier. In the lowest tier, two children cost $16.00 a month instead of $22.00. In the higher tiers the cap is about two children's premiums, so a third or fourth child adds little or nothing. On top of that, DCH says you never have to pay more than 5 percent of your yearly income in premiums and copays combined; once you reach that limit, you owe no more premiums or copays for the rest of the year.1

The first payment is the one that counts. PeachCare benefits do not start until the initial premium is received: Georgia gives new applicants 45 days to make that first payment, and families at renewal 30 days. After that, a missed premium no longer ends coverage during the enrollment period, though unpaid premiums still accrue and you get a quarterly statement. Premiums are due 30 days before the first day of the month of coverage.1 Set up a reliable payment method when you enroll so a balance does not build up.

Older relatives age 55 and over who are raising a child under 18 are also an eligible group under the National Family Caregiver Support Program, if they live with the child, are the child's primary caregiver because the parents can't or won't be, and are a relative other than the parent. The program's information, help getting access to services, counseling, support groups and caregiver training are open to you. Its respite care and supplemental services are not: federal law limits those two to caregivers of a frail older person. Services run through your local Area Agency on Aging.5

What Copays Apply

PeachCare charges small copays for some services. DCH says there is no copay for emergency services, preventive care such as routine check-ups, immunizations, or routine preventive and diagnostic dental care, and that other copays range from $0.50 to $12.50, with most at $2 or $3. Each Georgia Families plan also publishes the copay schedule its own members pay, and the published schedules are not identical, so check the child's plan for the exact amounts. CareSource, for example, lists these PeachCare copays for members age six and over: $2 for a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) or rural health clinic visit, $3 for an outpatient or ambulatory surgery service, $12.50 for an inpatient stay, and $0.50 for a preferred drug. Under the state's rule, children under age six in PeachCare have no copays.6

Premiums and copays together are capped at 5 percent of your yearly family income, so a family's out-of-pocket exposure is limited even across multiple children and many visits.6

What Georgia PeachCare for Kids Covers

Because PeachCare is a separate CHIP, federal law sets a floor under what it must cover. A separate CHIP must cover dental services needed to prevent disease, restore teeth to health and function, and treat emergencies. It must cover mental health services, including behavioral health treatment, needed to prevent, diagnose and treat a broad range of mental health conditions and substance use disorders, and it must follow mental health parity rules.7

Beyond that floor, PeachCare members get routine check-ups, immunizations, emergency services, hospital care, prescriptions and other medical services through their Georgia Families plan, with the copays described above.6 When you need to know whether a specific service is covered, check the plan's member handbook or call the plan.

For a relative caregiver managing a child's existing conditions, the behavioral health coverage is often the most valuable: a child who needs counseling after a difficult family transition can get it without separate private coverage.

How PeachCare Compares to Children's Medicaid

A few differences between the two programs matter to a caregiver working out what a child qualifies for.

On children's Medicaid, both Georgia Families plans whose copay schedules we checked list members under 21 as exempt from copays.6 Children's Medicaid also carries the federal Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnostic, and Treatment (EPSDT) entitlement. For enrollees under age 21, EPSDT requires Medicaid to cover the treatment needed to correct or ameliorate a condition found through a screening, whether or not the state plan otherwise covers that service.8 PeachCare has the modest premiums and copays described above, and as a separate CHIP program it is not itself an EPSDT program; its federal coverage floor is the CHIP one described in the benefits section.

The two programs are funded differently as well. For federal fiscal year 2027 (October 1, 2026 through September 30, 2027), Georgia's regular federal Medicaid match (the Federal Medical Assistance Percentage, or FMAP) is 66.63 percent, while its enhanced match, the rate used for CHIP programs such as PeachCare, is 76.64 percent.9

During a child's 12-month continuous eligibility period, a rise in household income does not end the child's coverage. Movement the other way can happen mid-year: if a child on PeachCare becomes eligible for full Medicaid during the 12 months, federal law lets the state move the child to Medicaid for the rest of that period.10

How to Apply

You can apply for PeachCare for Kids on a child's behalf as a relative caregiver.

As of September 2026, Georgia Families runs through three Care Management Organizations: Amerigroup Community Care, CareSource, and Peach State Health Plan. A 2024 reprocurement named a different set of plans for the next contract period and is still in the protest phase. Until the award is issued, DCH is extending the current three plans' contracts through June 30, 2027, an extension that can end sooner once the award issues, so confirm current plan options through Georgia Gateway or DCH Member Services when you enroll.14

Renewals and Keeping Coverage

Under section 5112 of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023, effective January 1, 2024, every state must give children under age 19 in Medicaid and CHIP 12 months of continuous eligibility. A child stays covered for the full 12 months even if household income rises during the year. Under the statute, the period ends early if the child turns 19 or stops being a Georgia resident, and for a child on Medicaid the federal regulation adds a few narrow cases, such as the family asking to end coverage or eligibility having been granted in error.10

At the end of the 12 months, an annual renewal is required, and PeachCare verifies household income again at renewal.2 A renewal notice that goes to an old address is an easy way to lose coverage, so keep your mailing address current with DFCS. You can renew online through Georgia Gateway, and DFCS asks families without online access to mail renewal paperwork to their local county office.15

If a Child Has a Disability: Katie Beckett

If you are raising a child with a significant disability, look at Katie Beckett, also called TEFRA, in addition to PeachCare. Katie Beckett lets a child with a severe disability qualify for Medicaid on the child's own income and resources, without counting the parents', when the child needs an institutional level of care but can be cared for at home. Katie Beckett has its own age rule, separate from PeachCare's: Georgia makes it available to children 18 years of age and younger, and eligibility does not extend past the month the child turns 19, closing the month after.16

For many families of children with disabilities, Katie Beckett is preferable to PeachCare because it opens full Medicaid with the EPSDT entitlement, which is stronger leverage when a needed service is denied.8 See our Georgia Katie Beckett guide for the full pathway.

Who to Call in Georgia

Learn More

Find personalized help enrolling a grandchild in PeachCare for Kids at brevy.com.

The information on Brevy.com is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional legal, financial, or medical advice. Rules vary by state and program and change frequently. Always verify with the relevant agency or a qualified professional. Brevy is not a law firm, financial advisor, or healthcare provider.