CDPAP Makes Home Care Less Stressful for Your Loved Ones
If you receive Medicaid benefits in New York State and are eligible for home care services, you have a couple of options to choose from. One common option is to use the services of a private home care agency. Another popular option allows you to self-direct your care by hiring and training a personal assistant (PA) who reports directly to you. This latter option is called the Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program – also known as CDPAP. As explained on cdpapny.org, “CDPAP is a Medicaid program that allows consumers to direct their own home care. One of the highlights of the program is that it allows family members and friends to get paid to care for their loved ones.”
An increasing number of consumers are attracted to the independence and personalized care CDPAP offers, but they’re often uncertain about how to handle the administrative side of overseeing their care on their own. The program is designed to minimize the stress of the patient while maximizing the efficiency and quality of the care and at the same time, lessen the burden.
One particular way CDPAP alleviates the stressful administrative side of home care is by having a fiscal intermediary do the work for you. A fiscal intermediary is a state-certified third party, often a home care agency, who processes payroll for your personal assistant, handles benefits, and makes sure appropriate deductions are withheld for taxes. The fiscal intermediary takes no role in managing the work and care your PA provides. The fiscal intermediary simply acts as an independent contractor to bill Medicaid on your behalf and process the PA’s paychecks.
The biggest advantage of working with a fiscal intermediary is relieving the stress of having to administer your own Medicaid benefits. The consumer is free to focus more intently on finding a PA they can trust, allowing them to live as independently as possible.
A second substantial way the consumer can reduce the stress of managing their home care is by way of CDPAP’s unique way of scheduling their care. Either the patient or their designated representative is in charge of scheduling and arranging all matters regarding their home care needs
Lastly, and most significantly, CDPAP removes the stress from having to live in an unfamiliar setting. While nursing homes, senior living communities, hospitals, and rehabilitation centers can provide patients with medical care, they can never replicate the comfort and security patients will feel like they do in their own homes. The ability to receive care in their own home reduces the stress of having to live in a busy and crowded environment with other seniors.
Edison Home Health Care is proud to be a certified CDPAP fiscal intermediary and home care agency in New York State, and is there to help you get the care you need. To enroll in CDPAP, give Edison a call at 718-489-2955 and they‘ll be happy to explain how to get started in the program.
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