CDPAP Made Simple

What is CDPAP?

CDPAP stands for the Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program. This New York State Medicaid program allows chronically ill or physically disabled consumers who need help with everyday activities or skilled nursing to hire their home care assistants. Consumers can choose their caregivers, who may or may not be family members or friends. However, the consumer or his or her representative assumes the responsibility for training, supervising, and terminating the caregivers. The CDPAP may cover services typically provided by a personal care attendant, home health care aide, or a nurse, known as Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Services or CDPAS.

The purpose of the CDPA is to help those who have to leave a job to take care of a loved one who is disabled or chronically unwell. For example, an older person who needs daily assistance may be uncomfortable with hiring a stranger to enter the home every day. Some medical tasks, such as giving injections, maybe outside the scope of a personal assistant. The CDPA allows the person to pay an adult child over the age of 21 or another trusted relative to provide care. The caregiver cannot be a spouse, but he or she may live in the home of the person they care for if the level of care required makes that necessary.

How Do I Access the CDPA?

To access the CDPA program, the individual needs an order from his or her physician or medical care provider. The referral goes to the social services district for a social and nursing assessment. The assessment must determine that the person can participate fully in the program and recommend a schedule for the services, including how often the caregiver will attend to the consumer, the length of each visit, and how long the services will continue.

What Is a Self Directing Person?

To participate fully in the CDPA/CDPAP, a consumer must be a self-directing person. This requirement exists because the consumer must hire, teach, monitor the caregivers, and line up alternative services if the caregiver is not available on a given day. The consumer must also keep up with documentation such as timesheets and payroll records for the caregiver. Here are the three main components indicative of a self-directing person.

• The consumer must be able and willing to make informed decisions about his or her lifestyle and the kind of care needed.
• The consumer must also be able to structure the home environment so that the care can be provided.
• The consumer must understand the consequences of hiring a personal assistant and the ability to take responsibility for the hiring process.

In the alternative, the consumer may have a competent representative who can make these decisions on his or her behalf.

What does Medicaid Driven Program Mean?

The CDPA/CDPAP is a Medicaid driven program, which means that you must be enrolled in Medicaid to be eligible. If you don’t have Medicaid, but you feel you may be eligible, Trusted Choice Homecare can help you with the application process. The process can be intimidating, but help is available every step of the way.

How Trusted Choice Home Care Helps Set You Up for Success

If you feel that you may qualify, let Trusted Choice Homecare help you navigate the assessments, forms, and other steps you must take. Trusted Choice has been a Fiscal Intermediary (FI) for the New York State CDPA since November of 2016. The FI role is different than that of a home health care agency. A home health assistant contracts with an FI who will pay the caregiver and the FI contracts with Medicaid for reimbursement.

At Trusted Choice Homecare, we work with most insurance companies, and we have long-standing relationships with the Department of Social Services’ local offices. We can help, even if you aren’t signed up for Medicaid yet. We have all the forms that you need, and we can help you gather all the relevant documentation. Contact us today online or call (716) 431-5550 to start the process to get the help you need to get back to your life.