CDPAP: A New Opportunity for Family Caregivers

Many years ago, there were certain restrictions for home care. It used to be that, in a home care setting, if somebody wanted to hire help outside of an agency to care for mom and dad, that hired person could not be a family member.

Caregivers often ask, “I stopped working because I need to take care of my mom; can I get paid for this?” The answer, traditionally, has been, “No.”

The Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program (CDPAP)

However, in a recent consumer-directed program, known as CDPAP, adult-child caregivers are now allowed to bill Medicaid for time spent caring for mom or dad. This presents a huge opportunity, especially considering that adult-children often feel no one else could take better care of their parents.

The exception is that you’re not allowed to bill time to Medicaid if caring for a spouse. The understanding is that there is an obligation to care for a spouse, where there isn’t an obligation for an adult-child to care for a parent.

Though a lot of families would prefer this setup, hiring an adult-child in this way would not be the first place I would go with planning. There should still be a Plan B. When the adult-child can’t be there, who’s stepping in and covering for them? At least, when hiring through an agency, there’s a backup plan.

Adult-children caregivers still have to apply for Medicaid on behalf of their parent, and be financially eligible first. Then it becomes a question of how to go through the process to secure managed long-term care.

Make sure to get the best information out there. Stay informed, and work with an attorney who is already familiar with this process. Please contact us with questions or comments.