CDPAP

CDPAP, which stands for the Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program, allows for a Medicaid home-care recipient to manage and direct their own care. One question that we often receive from clients is "Why would I want to use CDPAP when a Medicaid approved agency can provide home-health aids and manage my care for me?" There are, however, a number of situations in which the use of CDPAP may be preferable or even necessary. For instance, many Medicaid home-care recipients end up hiring a personal aid prior to Medicaid approval out of necessity. In some instances, the Medicaid recipient and their family feel that the aid they have privately hired is the best that they will ever find. For those fortunate enough to find themselves in this situation, CDPAP will allow for the privately hired aid to continue their employment while receiving payment for their services from Medicaid.

Another scenario in which use of CDPAP may actually be necessary arises where the Medicaid applicant has limitations in their physical and cognitive ability so severe that Medicaid determines that a nursing home, and not home-care, is appropriate. Under these circumstances, which usually arise where the Medicaid home-care applicant is unable to take their own medication or where the applicant must be lifted onto and off of a bed, bath or toilet (i.e. - "heavy lifting") Medicaid will actually refuse to hire an aid agency to provide assistance. Medicaid will, instead, recommend nursing home care. However, nursing home benefits may also be unavailable to the applicant as the result of asset transfers that fall within the five-year

For more information, contact us here or call (631) 470-9753.