CDPAP 101: Everything You Need To Know

By Staff Reporter - 15 Jul '21 16:57PM

(Photo : CDPAP 101: Everything You Need To Know)

Caring for an elderly loved one can be one of the toughest jobs you ever had to do. It is emotionally and physically taxing, even devastating at times. This is why finding a care provider who you trust with your loved one's health and safety can be crucial.

There are numerous benefits of CDPAP (Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program) that we will get into in this article.

Don't know what a CDPAP is? Read this article till the end to find out.

What is CDPAP?

CDPAP stands for Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program. This program provides New York residents with in-home personal care services that are paid for by Medicaid.

Advantages of CDPAP

CDPAP is a consumer-directed program. This means you, the consumer, have control over your plan for aging in place and receiving services at home.

One of the many reasons CDPAP is helpful is that it offers paid caregiver opportunities to your family member or a friend. If you live alone, this can be extremely important and beneficial.

Another major benefit of CDPAP is flexibility. You can stay in your own home unless it isn't safe to do so. Some Medicaid programs require that you be placed in a nursing home to receive benefits.

However, CDPAP allows you to stay in your home if there are other options to receive proper care. If your health or financial circumstances change, you can move from one caregiver to another until one who meets all of your needs is found.

CDPAP Eligibility

You may be asking yourself, "Do I qualify for CDPAP assistance?". These are the criteria you must fulfill:

You must be a resident of New York with a documented medical condition.
You must be enrolled in the Medicaid program.

Note: With CDPAP, you are required to take care of the care services yourself. This includes scheduling, firing, training, and hiring the personal caregiver.

Medical Eligibility

Medically, to be eligible, you'll need a service form from your doctor. You also need to apply for the physician's order for that form.

This will confirm that your doctor accepts you require home care service.

Once the latest ordinances go into effect, you'll need a separate doctor to complete the POS form.

Guidelines for Personal Assistant Under CDPAP

Before you become a caregiver and get paid to take care of your family, there are certain eligibility criteria you need to keep in mind. These are:

If you're the consumer, you must be 18 years of age or above
You can be the consumer's parents if he/she is under 21 years of age
You can be the consumer's designated representative

Note: There are no licensing or certification requirements for personal assistants. The person getting the care is accountable for training the assistant to take care of them.

Importance of A Personal Assistant

If you're a consumer, a personal caregiver can assist you with tasks that include important nursing and healthcare jobs.

Personal assistants may also be certified for first-aid and CPR care (including infant and child CPR), as well as other medical certifications, including bloodborne pathogen certification.

They can also perform basic nursing tasks, like providing basic first aid, assisting with ocular examinations, taking small blood samples for lab work, monitoring patient vital signs (pulse rate, eye response, breathing), and regularly changing bandages for medical patients.

CDPAP Recommendations

You may think of your assistant as someone who simply does chores for you or even as a family member. But legally, a personal assistant is an autonomous helper, managed by a "fiscal intermediary." It is a group of authorized home care professionals that process all the cheques and acts as common ground between you and the personal assistant.

We hope this article helped you understand CDPAP in detail and help you make informed decisions regarding caring for your loved ones.