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While Medicaid has been around for almost half a century, care programs for disabled and elderly people were usually directed by someone other than the recipient and family members. This fact, combined with the limited availability of healthcare assistance, meant many individuals received poor services, if they were cared for at all. Communication from advocates and family members began to get through to state legislators, resulting in gradual changes.
Early changes began to show up in the late 1970s, but the most important alterations happened in 1992, when the Patient Managed Home Care Program began in New York, under the auspices of the state’s health department. The name was changed to Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program or CDPAP just a few years later. In the next eight years, the program grew to serve hundreds of residents, with enrollment continuing to grow annually.
Perhaps the most telling of those words in the program’s name are “consumer directed.” The program allows those who qualify for the care—or those who are in charge of a person’s healthcare—to make most of the decisions about the individual. This is a significant change from programs in the past, which left most of the decision-making with outside individuals.
Until the mid-1990s, if someone needed home-care services the primary decisions about the care plan were made by someone from a health agency or by a representative of a private vendor. With CDPAP, a family member other than a spouse can be the personal aide for someone who qualifies for the program. That aide can receive compensation for providing care, which puts special tasks in the hands of people the individual has known for a long period of time and will be very comfortable with. Payments are made through a third-party financial office
Every county in New York state has CDPAP services available, with managed-care plans required to include CDPAP as a home-care opportunity. Because this is a Medicaid program, there is no additional cost to the person benefitting from home-care services. If the individual is on Medicaid and requests a Personal Assistant in this program, the process of putting those services in place can begin. As the individual care plan is created, family members and the patient/care recipient help determine hours and necessary services.
It’s important to keep in mind that almost anyone can be a Personal Assistant, though there are a few limitations. Eligible individuals can be siblings, children, neighbors, friends, and other relatives. Those who are interested in knowing more about this program and who might have an interest in becoming a Personal Assistant can be trained on site by the program recipient (consumer) or a designated representative. This process helps deliver efficient healthcare services in the individual’s home, with number of hours worked determined by the insurance company covering services for the patient.
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