NEW YORK

New York State Department of Health

The Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program (CDPAP) is a Medicaid program governed by Section 365-f of the New York State Social Services Law (SSL) and the implementing regulations under Section 505.28 of Title 18 of the New York Codes, Rules, and Regulations (NYCRR).

This program helps people with disabilities, chronic illnesses, or other long-term health conditions stay at home with their chosen care and services. They can employ people they choose as personal assistants (PAs).

Click below on the “Events” button to view our upcoming registration sessions, webinars, and other events.

CDPAP facilitators are community-based organizations located throughout New York State who can help you register with PPL as the statewide fiscal intermediary and provide ongoing customer service and EVV support.

Our facilitator partners enhance PPL’s ability to provide culturally competent and localized support to the many New Yorkers who rely on CDPAP. In addition to the approved list of partners below, PPL is working with additional facilitators to further expand our capacity and footprint. Partners are approved and readied on a rolling basis. We will post additional facilitators in the coming weeks. 

Only organizations listed here are authorized PPL facilitators. If an organization is not listed here and they are telling you they are a CDPAP facilitator, please call PPL at 1-833-247-5346 before sharing information with them regarding your CDPAP status.

Click here to view where our partners are located, what languages they speak, and how to contact them.

Below are the documents you will need to register with PPL. Further below are the options to register with PPL as the statewide fiscal intermediary for CDPAP.

Call our customer support center at 1-833-247-5346, and we will walk you through the process.

You can switch to PPL using our PPL@Home online system. Access PPL@Home by clicking the appropriate link below. 

Our CDPAP facilitators can help you switch to PPL. A list of approved facilitators is available here.

Join an in-person or virtual session for dedicated support. See upcoming dates here.

Below are common and timely questions and answers related to New York CDPAP. For a full list of FAQs about the CDPAP fiscal intermediary transition, consumer and PA benefits, working with a CDPAP facilitator, managing service authorizations, and more, visit our New York CDPAP FAQ page at https://pplfirst.com/new-york-cdpap-frequently-asked-questions.

1. Question: What is New York State’s Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program (CDPAP) and how does it work?

Answer: CDPAP is a Medicaid-funded program that helps people with disabilities, chronic illnesses, or other long-term health conditions receive care and services from people they choose and trust, known as personal assistants (PAs). Consumers are responsible for recruiting and hiring their PAs. While PPL, health plan care managers, and local department of social services (LDSS) staff can provide general hiring resources, it is up to the consumer or their designated representative to find and hire their PAs. Consumers can hire friends and family members to provide care, but there are some rules. Spouses cannot be paid PAs, and parents cannot be paid caregivers for children under 21 years old.

2. Question: Who is eligible to participate in CDPAP?

Answer: To be eligible for CDPAP services, an individual must:

• be eligible for NYS Medicaid;
• have a stable medical condition;
• have a determined need for home-care services (The completion of a UAS-NY Community Health Assessment is required for individuals 18 years of age and over); and
• be capable of self-directing or have a designated representative who can make decisions on the individuals behalf.

3. Question: How can I start receiving CDPAP services as a consumer?

Answer: A person must be eligible for Medicaid to receive CDPAP services. If they are not sure whether they are eligible, they can contact their Local Department of Social Services (LDSSs) or an independent living center to find out. Once eligibility is confirmed, the recipient can take the following steps to enroll in CDPAP:

1. Obtain a Medicaid identification number from the LDSS or health plan.
2. Contact the New York Independent Assessor Program (NYIAP) to schedule an assessment. Visit nyindependentassessor.com, or call 1-855-222-8350 (TTY 1-833-329-1541).
3. Once the assessment is complete, instructions will be sent for next steps on getting long-term-care services, including CDPAP. Some people may choose to enroll in a Managed Long-Term-Care (MLTC) Program. Others can get long-term care services through their county local social services office or through their existing Medicaid managed care plan.
4. After meeting with a case manager to establish a plan of care and CDPAP services are authorized, the recipient can contact PPL to register for the program.

4. Question: How can I start providing CDPAP services as a PA?

Answer: A PA must be hired by a CDPAP consumer and complete the necessary registration and employment verification steps with PPL. PAs do not need a certificate, license or formal certification to work in CDPAP, but some paid training is required.

5. Question: How do PAs log CDPAP hours, and how do consumers approve their time?

Answer: PPL offers multiple timekeeping options to accommodate the different needs of CDPAP consumers and PAs. PPL has two EVV-compliant timekeeping options:

• PPL’s Time4Care app, Download Time4Care from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store.
• PPL’s Telephony system. Call 1-833-278-3959, select 1 for PA, 2 for consumer, or 3 for DR, and follow the prompts to enter or approve time.

Paper timesheets are only available with an approved exception, and consumers may approve time entries PPL@Home, but PPL@Home is not an EVV-compliant way for PAs to enter time. Consumers can approve time entries via any of PPL’s timekeeping methods (it doesn’t have to be the same method the PA used to enter time). A full guide to entering and approving time is available here in English and here in Spanish. More timekeeping resources can be found at https://pplfirst.com/cdpap-resources. 

6. Question: Who is PPL?

Answer: PPL is the leading fiscal intermediary for consumer directed services. We have been serving consumers and personal assistants (PAs) for 25 years and work with 50 programs across 20 states. PPL is solely dedicated to consumer-directed services and does not have other lines of business. Many PPL employees have worked in consumer directed services for decades and our technology is the highest rated on the Google App and Apple App stores.

7. Question: What languages does PPL serve?

Answer: PPL team members and our CDPAP facilitator partners speak 40 different languages, including the top 14 languages spoken in New York. Additionally, PPL’s customer support center agents have access to translation services in 300 languages and American Sign Language, and information on PPL’s website can be translated into 130 languages. Overall, information and services are available in hundreds of languages and dialects, including those identified by New York State’s Office of the Medicaid Inspector General as Limited English Proficient (LEP). These include Spanish, Chinese, Russian, Yiddish, Bangla, Haitian Creole, Korean, Arabic, Italian, French, Polish, and Urdu.

8. Question: What are the ways consumers and PAs have to register with PPL?

Answer: PPL offers several options for consumers and PAs to register with PPL. They can: 1) call PPL to get a step by step walk through of the process; 2) work with an approved CDPAP facilitator to register; 3) email PPL or register online through our PPL@Home system, or 4) attend one of our registration session (click here to see our upcoming sessions).

9. Question: What if a consumer or PA doesn’t have home internet, or prefers to get in-person support?

Answer: PPL has several options for registering and working with PPL that don’t require internet access. Consumers and PAs can: 1) call PPL’s customer support center, 2) attend an in-person registration session in their area, 3) call an approved CDPAP facilitator, or 4) request an in-office or in-home visit.

Additionally, for tracking work shifts, a call-in option will also be available for signing PAs in and out of work.

10. Question: How can I find out how many hours my PA can work?

Answer: Consumers can view their authorized CDPAP hours by logging in to PPL@Home using their mobile number or email address and navigating to the Service Authorizations tab at the top. It is important PA hours are scheduled appropriately throughout the week to avoid going over the authorized amount. 

11. Question: What will PAs get paid with PPL?  

Answer: PPL offers competitive wages and a robust benefits package for PAs. Listed below are the minimum base wage rates by location.

The minimum base wage rate for PAs serving consumers living in Bronx, New York, Kings, Queens, and Richmond counties is $20.10.

The minimum base wage rate for PAs serving consumers living in Nassau, Suffolk, and Westchester counties is $19.50.

The minimum base wage rate for PAs serving consumers living in any other county (not listed above) is $18.10.

PAs will also enjoy a comprehensive benefits package that includes paid time off, holiday pay, overtime, participation in a health benefits plan and 401(k) plan, paid professional development training, paid family leave, and more.

PAs whose consumers live in Bronx, New York, Kings, Queens, Richmond, Nassau, Suffolk, and Westchester counties also receive a flex card with funds to use on medical and dental expenses, medications, transportation and other health related expenses.

12. Question: What are the health benefit options for CDPAP personal assistants?

Answer: CDPAP personal assistants have several health benefit options through PPL.

Full-time workers (those working more than 130 hours per month) have the choice of enrolling in  PPL’s SecureHealth Plan, which provides comprehensive coverage.

Personal assistants in the downstate regions — Nassau, Suffolk, New York, Kings, Queens, Richmond, Bronx, and Westchester counties — are automatically enrolled in the PPL BasicWellness Plan, which covers basic preventive care, and the PPL Flex Benefit Plan (also called Flex Card), which helps cover various healthcare-related expenses. The PPL Flex Benefit Plan allows your employer to contribute to eligible medical expenses in a set amount for each hour you work. This plan also allows you to elect other optional benefits, such as transit and dependent care.

There are no monthly premium costs to the personal assistant to be enrolled in the BasicWellness Plan. 

Part-time workers (those working less than 130 hours per month) can explore health insurance options through NY State of Health by calling 1-855-355-5777 or visiting https://nystateofhealth.ny.gov.

For more detailed information and answers to frequently asked questions related to health benefits, please visit https://www.health.ny.gov/health_care/medicaid/program/longterm/cdpap/docs/sfi_worker_insurance_faq.pdf

13. Question: Will I be automatically enrolled in the PPL Flex Benefit Plan if I don’t live in downstate wage parity regions?

Answer: No, the PPL Flex Benefit Plan only applies in New York City and the counties of Nassau, Suffolk, and Westchester.

14. Question: What trainings are required, and will they be paid?

Answer: EVV training is the only training PAs must complete by their PPL hire date. There are some other trainings we will work with PAs to complete by the end of the year. Training time is paid for by PPL.

Trainings will be available within PPL’s PPL@Home system. A full list of the trainings as well as access to complete them will be clearly outlined when the PA logs into the system. There is no cost to the PA to complete these trainings online, and PAs will be compensated for training time. PPL will offer training sessions online or in-person at one of their offices. PAs will be able to view on PPL@Home which trainings are to be completed by October 1st, or they can call PPL to talk through the timing.  

15. Question: Can you provide more details about the health assessment?

Answer: CDPAP PAs need to do annual health assessments to comply with New York State regulations and ensure the health and safety of consumers. These health assessments include:
• A physical exam ensuring PAs are healthy enough to serve.
• Certification of immunity or vaccination for Measles, Mumps, and Rubella (MMR).
• TB testing results through a PPD skin test or QuantiFERON blood test, with a chest x-ray if results are positive.
• An annual TB risk assessment for negative cases.
• Proof of a flu shot or a signed declination form acknowledging the requirement to wear surgical or procedure masks in areas where consumers may be present during the influenza season.

PPL works with a company called Mobile Health to complete these assessments and handle the related paperwork. Mobile Health has hundreds of locations throughout the state where a PA can complete their health assessment. You can visit Mobile Health’s dedicated PPL program page for more information and locations: https://www.mobilehealth.com/ny-cdpap-ppl-medical-screenings/.

If a PA has a current valid health assessment, they will not have to redo it. When the PA registers with PPL, they will complete a health assessment attestation form to indicate that they have already completed their health assessment. The form is available in PPL@Home or a PPL agent can send the form to a PA.

If a PA has an expired health assessment, PPL will pay for the health assessment. They will go through Mobile Health to complete the health assessment.

16. Question: Who was eligible for the bonus payment?

Answer: CDPAP personal assistants (PAs) who were part of the CDPAP program prior to the transition to PPL, and who completed their paperwork and were fully registered with PPL by March 28, 2025, were eligible for a $100 bonus payment. Bonus to be paid within 90 days of PAs start with PPL.
*”start” with PPL is based on first timesheet submitted.

17, Question: What is the Wisely Pay card?

Answer: The Wisely Pay card is a debit card paychecks are deposited onto. PAs can choose this option using the Payment Method form in PPL@Home or here on our website. The card can be used to make payments over the phone, online, or in any store where Debit Mastercard® or Visa® debit cards are accepted. More information about Wisely and how to get the most out of the Wisely Pay card is available in their frequently asked questions and on their website, mywisely.com. For questions about the Wisely Pay card, contact Wisely Member Services 24/7 at 1-866-313-6901.

18. Question: What is your Electronic Visit Verification (EVV) application and how does it work?

Answer: PPL’s system, PPL@Home makes it easy to manage information and time worked, whether online or on our EVV app, which is called Time4Care™. The system automatically checks that hours worked match up with consumers’ authorization so that PAs get paid correctly. PPL’s tools are built to meet all program requirements and give real-time updates on work shifts.

PAs and consumers without internet access can call in to enter/approve time by dialing 1-833-278-3959 and following the prompts.

19. Question: What number can people use to clock in and out?

Answer: Timekeeping is done in PPL’s Time4Care application. Consumers and PAs will be given access and training on this app. This application also meets the program requirements around electronic visit verification (EVV). If a consumer or PA needs an exception to using the EVV process, there will be a phone number you can call for timekeeping phone instructions.

20. Question: How can consumers and PAs learn PPL’s EVV application?

Answer: PPL provides EVV training to help people understand and follow EVV rules. This helps avoid errors in timekeeping and makes it easier for people to manage their services.

21. Question: What job opportunities are available at PPL?

Answer: Please visit PPL’s career site for information about positions we are recruiting for and how to apply.