Arkansas Independent Choices

There will be no disruption to your current Independent Choices service with PALCO. PPL will be fully operational in October. We will be reaching out to you over the next few months about what to expect.

Over the next few months PPL will begin to send communications to you that will provide important information for you, including:

• Who PPL is
• What you can expect to happen in the transition process
• When you will be contacted to begin scheduling home visits or attending group enrollment sessions

As part of the transition process, DPSQA and PALCO will provide your name and contact information to PPL. PPL will use this information to reach out to you via mail, email, and phone.

The new forms are to help you transition to PPL and your providers can be paid by PPL instead of PALCO.

Enrollment Activities are planned to begin on and after July 5th, 2023.

PPL will connect with you to schedule the best way to conduct enrollment activities. PPL will offer the following options for enrollment activities:

• An in-home visit
• Over the phone
• Group Sessions (group sessions are still being scheduled and additional information will be made available when they have been finalized. These sessions are not planned to begin until after July 5th, 2023).

During the time that PPL will work with you to enroll, PPL will also train and review with you and your provider on the following:

• PPL’s MyAccount online system, which is our online system that you can access to view your budget, complete online enrollment activities and view, approve or reject time entries.
  • Assist in helping the client, representative and provider register for MyAccount if they wish to do so.
• PPL’s Time4Care mobile app, which is our EVV compliant tool, where providers will submit their time entries and where clients can approve or reject those time entries.
• Program policy and employer roles and responsibilities
• Our FMS system, MyAccount and our time capture solution Time4Care mobile application use the same log in credentials.

PPL is beginning transition activities much earlier than September or October of 2023 because it will be very important that clients and providers have completed enrollment activities with PPL so that PPL can receive and issue payments for the providers in September 2023.

Clients and Providers will continue to submit time and work with PALCO as they do today up until September 12th, 2023, even if they have completed their transition with PPL.

Individuals providing services to client in the Independent Choices program will be required to complete an enrollment packet with critical agreement, relationship and tax withholding information.

In addition,

• If a provider has not completed and passed a national criminal background check or maltreatment registry checks within the last 5 years, they will be required to complete them in order to complete enrollment with PPL.
• If a provider has not completed and passed a drug screen within the last 5 years, the provider will be required to complete this in order to complete their enrollment with PPL.

You will work with PPL to complete your enrollment between July and September 2023, but during this time you will still submit time to Palco and will continue to receive services from PALCO through September 11, 2023.

You will not start submitting time entries to PPL until the planned date of September 12th, 2023.

Employees will be able to submit their time electronically through PPL’s Time4Care mobile application. PPL also has an alternative method for you to clock in and out if you do not have internet or cell service.

Yes. EVV is required for providers in the Independent Choices program. Providers will use PPL’s Time4Care mobile app to clock their time entries in and out.

PPL will provide training on the mobile app during the transition enrollment period.

The first time you will be paid from PPL is October 4, 2023. The payroll schedule will remain the same as it is today.

Any newly enrolled worker will receive their first payment with PPL by paper check even if direct deposit is set up. PPL runs a pre-note with the bank on the worker’s first payment to be sure the account number is correct. After the first payment cycle payments will be sent by direct deposit.

Public Partnerships (PPL) is the only vendor for self-direction in the State of Arkansas Independent Choices Program as of October 1, 2023. Remember, self-directing your services means that you are in complete control over who you hire, how you receive your services and when! Self-direction gives you budget and employer authority while being supported by a PPL Support Broker who is always there to assist.

You can enroll through our FMS vendor, PPL. To begin the assessment and enrollment process, please reach out to PPL’s customer service toll-free number: 1(800) 256-2913 or email at PPLARK-CS@pplfirst.com.

You can learn more about PPL on our AR Independent Choices web page, here!

Reach out Monday – Friday 8:00am – 5:00pm at:

Customer Service / General Questions: 1-800-256-2913

Customer Service TTY: 1-800-360-5899

Customer Service Email:  PPLARK-CS@pplfirst.com

People providing services to a participant in the Independent Choices program need to complete paperwork with critical agreement, relationship and tax withholding information.

Your provider may also need to:

• Complete and pass a national criminal background check or maltreatment registry checks if they haven’t done so within the last 5 years.
• Complete and pass a drug screen if they haven’t done so within the last 5 years.

Your provider enters time using PPL’s Time4Care mobile app which can be downloaded from the Apple App Store or the Google Play Store.

Yes, EVV is required for providers in the Independent Choices program. Providers will use PPL’s Time4Care mobile app to clock their time entries in and out.

Please check the current pay schedule on the PPL Independent Choices program documents section for specific dates.

PPL has customer service representatives that will be available soon. You can call and/or email during normal business hours, Monday through Friday 8:00am – 5:00pm CST.