With a rapidly aging population, there are now 40 million caregivers working around the country as in-home care service providers. Given the emotion surrounding the decision, how can family members decide on care for their loved ones as they age? In-home care can provide basic daily tasks to help ensure a greater quality of life for people late in life. Below we will break down the program known as CDPAP, and what benefits it can bring to the elderly.

What is CDPAP

The Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program (CDPAP) program allows consumers to oversee all aspects relating to home care assistants whom they get to choose. Since the consumer is self-directed they are enabled to assess most needs for the personal assistants they will employ. Some common responsibilities the consumer will need to assume include research and recruitment, interviewing and hiring, management and supervision, oversight and termination.

Initial Eligibility

Prior to a person receiving services, a doctor will need to complete what is called a Physician’s Order for Services. The order goes to the local services district which will then complete a nursing assessment. A nurse will need to make recommendations relating to the amount, frequency and duration of the services to be offered.

Additional qualifications to help a person qualify:

• Eligible for Medicaid
• Long-Term Home Care or AIDS Home Care or Personal Care Services Eligible

Also, note that if a person qualifies through home health agency services that should suffice for eligibility for a home assistant through the CDPAP program.

CDPAP Requirements

For program eligibility, the recipients should be able to make an informed choice regarding the services they will receive. If the intended recipient is unable to make their own choice, a legal guardian or designated family member can also serve as someone to make a decision. The recipient, or designated family member, will then be in charge of hiring, training and supervising caregivers. It might also be necessary to have to coordinate other related services, such as payroll records for the caregivers.

Reasons to Consider Home-Care

1. Affordability
   Compared to nursing home care, a personal caregiver through the CDPAP program can be significantly more affordable. Nursing home care can often mean a lot of incidentals and extra fees, which can add up quickly. 
2. Home comfort
   Uprooting a loved one can cause a lot of strain, and stress. A sudden change in environment can trigger high blood pressure and can complicate matters for someone who recently went through a surgery. 
3. Personalized care
   Having an in-home care specialist through the CDPAP program allows them to build a relationship with your family member. This should lead to a more positive experience that makes everyone feel better. 
4. Independence
   Most people, if asked, will state they fear the idea of having to live in a care facility. Home care allows for greater independence and autonomy. 
5. You Pick
   Since you get to choose the caregiver, that should provide peace of mind. If you end up hiring a friend or family member, even better as you know that person so well.

Allowed Caregivers

The good news is if you’re a CDPAP consumer, you can hire almost anyone, within reason, to work on your behalf. Sometimes this includes friends, and family. Spouses, however, are not permitted to be a caregiver. If a parent is interested in providing care for their children, the law stipulates that the parent of an ‘adult child age 21 or older can be that child’s caregiver. A parent of a child younger than 21 cannot be that child’s caregiver’.

Interacting With a Caregiver

Make sure to explain things clearly, including personal preferences, so the caregiver knows expectations. Even though the caregiver is your employee, it’s important to treat them with respect because in many ways they are an extension of your family. With the caregiver having a lot on their plate responsibility-wise, you need to take care of them and in turn they will be able to provide the care needed for your family.

Common Questions

1. What is the compensation for CDPAP workers?
   Unfortunately, there is no set or straightforward answer as it depends on a variety of factors. To learn more contact us or feel free to give them a call at one of their New York metro area locations. 
2. How many hours of home care can a person receive?
   Also, a lot of variables with this question but not all CDPAP program consumers receive the same number of hours. Sometimes, a Medicaid care plan will have the final say on this. 
3. Are certification and training needed?
   CDPAP program providers are not required to have a license/certification. 
4. How is payment processed for the assistants?
   A fiscal intermediary, or FI, is a third-party organization that contracts with your local department of social services to provide payment, as part of the consumer’s plan of care.

CDPAP Compared to Standard Home Care

Initially, it can appear that there are a lot of similarities between CDPAP and standard home care services that also involve a caregiver. The biggest difference with CDPAP is you get to elect the caregiver to provide services as opposed to a company assigning one. Also with a private caregiving company, they might involve other employees as well, opposed to one dedicated person with CDPAP.

Get Started Today

The CDPAP program can provide much greater control and freedom for recipients. Given the emotional nature of this decision, it can be comforting to know that the person you are bringing into loved ones home is trusted – be it a friend or family member. However, you don’t have to figure it all out on your own. Take a look at the CDPAP program, with several locations in New York, for help navigating the system.

Do you get the home health care you need and want?

Americans spend over $3.4 trillion a year on health care, which is more than what most countries pay for the same benefits. The unfortunate fact though is that not a lot of people contributing to this expenditure get the care they want or need. You get bring control back into your hands with things like CDPAP aka Consumer Directed Personal Assisted Program. CDPAP lets you control every factor of your health care plan. The downside is that you’re now the one responsible for picking a health care provider. You could get a qualified professional or someone who might do more harm. How do you find the right provider? Pause for a minute and consider the following tips to find the right provider for you or a loved one:

Experience in the Home Health Care Field.

One of the first things you have to check is how long the provider has been in this field. It doesn’t mean that a company that’s been around longer provides better quality but it does show their stability. A provider meets more clients the longer they stay in the industry. If you find a home health care provider that’s been around for years, it means you can speak to more clients and hear what they have to say. There’s no better review than a testimonial from a previous healthcare consumer.

Do a Background Check

Even if the provider is a few years old, you will still need to do an extensive background check. It’s important to see if everything this provider says is true. You’ll also want to look for any hints of shady business. Make sure to look if they changed their name or had negative reviews in the past. Make sure the provider has a physical address or else they could run away after scamming a few consumers. Part of this background check is looking into their credentials. You need to check the provider’s business permit, their licenses to operate in the medical field, and more. Don’t limit your background check to the provider. You also have to look into how they handle their employees.

Employee Credentials

Look into the credentials that the provider demands of their employees. Do they require their doctors, nurses, and aids to submit certifications, licenses, and more to prove they’ve had the training and education for the job? Does the provider keep their employees trained and updated in the industry? What kind of professional testing and background screening does the provider conduct for its employees? All of these questions ensure you deal with professionals who are clean of criminal records and can prove their expertise. Keep in mind that some healthcare jobs don’t require a degree. For these occupations, make sure that the providers at least have some formal training and certification to prove it.

Staff Employees or Contracted Workers?

Contracted workers are not the spawns of evil but it is better if you are dealing with staff employees. The reason is that employees may have proper insurance coverage and guaranteed training. When a provider outsources to contracted workers, they don’t have much control over the quality of training and knowledge of those people. This means, like you, they rely on the paperwork to see if someone qualifies for the job. If something goes wrong, a contracted worker might not have insurance. Imagine what would happen if that worker broke your wheelchair or spilled your medications. If they can’t pay then who will? Going for CDPAP is the best option. You can choose a friend, relative, or anyone you trust to be your caregiver. This means you get to rely on someone you know has the training and it is someone you are comfortable being with.

Is a Home Visit Needed?

A common practice is for the home health care provider to send a representative and check the home before moving forward with a plan. This lets them evaluate the patient’s situation and living circumstances. Not everyone is comfortable with this. Some people want to avail of great healthcare without someone inspecting first. It sends a message that you might not qualify if the home is a high-risk environment or if they see you can afford healthcare in a commercial space.

References From Doctors and Social Workers

Another good way to get the best home health care provider is to ask for professional references. When looking up different providers, ask doctors, nurses, and social workers for their opinion regarding those companies. These professionals can give you an inside look at these providers. They can tell you secrets of the trade and what to look for when talking to a health care agency. A good agency is one that both clients and doctors like.

Evaluating Client’s Health Care Needs

How does the provider evaluate the client’s needs? How do they check what kind of therapy or medication program is best for that client? Do they use scientific and medical procedures to come up with those solutions or do they pull the answers out of thin air? Also, make it a point to check what procedures they do use if they have some. Do they visit the client’s home? Do they run a medical background check or speak with previous doctors? Will the provider run several laboratory tests and if so, how much will they charge you since this is only for evaluation purposes?

Get the Best Health Care Provider Right Now

Proper home health care is no joke. You don’t want to waste money on the wrong employees and agency. Your life and the life of those you care about are on the line. Don’t waste your resources and don’t risk your life. You can get the best healthcare provider right now. As a matter of fact, with CDPAP you can choose what kind of health care you want, who provides it, and where you receive it. Not sure how it works or what it costs? Send us a message and we’ll be glad to answer all your inquiries and do our best to give you the best care you deserve.

With 40 million caregivers now working around the country and given our rapidly aging population, in-home care services are set to skyrocket. For busy family members, it’s a difficult and emotional decision to decide how our elders should be cared for as they age. In order to give them the dignity and attention they deserve, care services can provide endless benefits to our aging friends and family.

For those who are on the receiving end of care, it can be a struggle to admit they need help to perform some of the basic day-to-day tasks that used to be easy. Asking for help is hard enough. Building a relationship with someone who you will grow to depend on for their care services it another thing entirely.

Here are 7 reasons why in-home care offers the best care services for your loved ones.

1. It’s Affordable

When you register for nursing home care, you’ll be surprised how all of your incidentals and extras add up. You might suffer sticker shock when you see all of the extra fees your loved one will be receiving. A personal caregiver can be much cheaper while offering the personalized care that your loved one needs.

Overall, you’ll see that it costs much less to pay for in-home care by the hour than round the clock costs at an elder care home. Look for a home care company that offers care services at a reasonable rate.

With simple pricing models, easy to understand fee schedules, and the option for monthly or annual contracts, you’ll be surprised at how much you’ll save. All the while, you’ll be getting personalized treatment with the dignity anyone deserves.

2. Enjoy the Comforts Of Home

The added distress of uprooting their life can cause undue strain for elderly family members. If they have high blood pressure or PTSD issues, they can be triggered by the sudden change in environment. For family members who’ve recently had surgery or a major medical issue, being at home can speed up their recovery.

Doctors and therapists agree that rehabilitation in a familiar environment, with the support of family and friends, is the ideal situation for recovery. In-home care services that give this option yield the best results for older people.

3. Personalized Care

There’s nothing more exhausting than when, after you’ve given the nurse your whole story, the doctor walks into the exam room and asks, “So, what’s wrong?” Having to give your story over and over makes the situation feel impersonal and uncomfortable.

Working with an in-home care specialist who gets to know the things they like and all of their quirks will build a much stronger relationship. This will lead to a faster recovery and make loved ones feel better about their situation.

Any type of care has an element of personal privacy and intimacy. Knowing that you have someone’s full attention during the length of your care can make the whole interaction much more positive for older people in recovery.

4. Smooth Transitions

There are well-documented cases of people in assisted living facilities suffering from severe bouts of depression. This can be caused by the shock of being disconnected from familiar surroundings or the disconnection from friends and neighbors.

That feeling of disconnection is only exacerbated when facilities are in another city or a hard-to-reach area of town. It’s less likely that their other elderly neighbors and long-time friends will be able to make the trek to see them.

In-home care services allow for our loved ones to live by their own rules, rather than the rules of a care facility. That autonomy and control are important to recovery.

5. Independence and Confidence

Ask around to a group of older people and they’ll rate the fear of having to live in a care facility as a deeper fear than death itself. This is because, as Americans, we value independence and autonomy in our daily lives.

Our homes are our dominions and to have to live by other rules with people who we didn’t choose to live with makes us feel like children.

Despite whatever events and activities are planned at a care facility, we know that most residents aren’t given much of a choice. Either they sit and watch TV or they take the bus to the mall. This lack of independence and confidence will destroy the spirit that older people need to make a strong recovery.

In-home care services avoid those pitfalls.

6. Keeping Family Together

Strong family ties are what older people live for. Ask any group of older Americans and they’ll rave about wanting to see their grandchildren grow up and accomplish great things. They want to see this or that family member get married or finish school.

Keeping the family together will also reduce those feelings of guilt that younger members will have when they sign their loved ones into a care facility. They’ll be able to also enjoy that familiar setting of where you have had great holiday or family celebrations.

This also means you can drop in to visit whenever you want, instead of having to abide by a care facility’s schedule. Just be sure to call ahead so as not to disturb anyone in recovery.

7. Piece Of Mind

When you bring a caregiver on, you’ll have the option to interview them as much as you’d like. If you hire a friend or family member to perform in-home care services, that’s even better.

That trust and the ability to call just one person to find out any information you need is priceless when dealing with the fragility of elder care. With your own responsibilities at home and in your life, you can focus on your needs knowing your family member is being taken care of.

In-Home Care Services Are The Answer

If you’re looking to find the best option with the most flexibility, in-home care is the answer for older people and people with disabilities. The person receiving the care will also appreciate the ability to forge a personal connection, rather than the cold administrative relationship offered by nursing homes.

If you’re still trying to figure out who would be the best person to care for your family member, contact us for more tips.