Consumer Directed Personal Assistant Program

What is CDPAP?

The Consumer Directed Personal Assistant Program (CDPAP) is a Medicaid program that provides an alternative to traditional home care aimed to empower individuals in directing their own care. The services provided under the program are exactly like through traditional home care except the hiring, training, coordinating, and general operational duties fall under the consumer rather than the home care agency.  

Employment Model

Rather than the aide being an employee of the agency like in traditional home care, under CDPAP the Fiscal Intermediary (FI) acts as the employer on record for the aide and processes the payroll. 

Licensing and Reimbursement

The FI is an entity enrolled through the Medicaid program that has contracts with Managed Long Term Care (MLTC) plans, social service departments, or both. Operating an FI is a great supplemental service for a traditional home care agency, however it is not required to be a licensed agency. FIs are typically reimbursed by Medicaid through MLTC plans.

Why CDPAP?

Unlike in traditional home care, a CDPAP Personal Assistants (PA) does not need to be trained as a Home Health Aide (HHA). This means a family member or friend can be hired as a PA, which can help overcome language barriers. In addition, PAs can provide some skilled tasks, which will otherwise be required to be performed by a nurse.

For agencies that are waiting to be licensed as a Licensed Home Care Service Agency, operating a CDPAP is a great way to get started. Compared to obtaining a LHCSA license, the CDPAP timeline is a lot shorter and it is a great addition to running a companion care agency as you will now be able to indirectly provide personal care services and be reimbursed by Medicaid. 

Get started

If you are interested in CDPAP and want to learn more about the program or licensing process, reach out to us at homecaresetup@gmail.com or check out our website at http://newtconsulting.com.