Once you are approved for Consumer Directed Services in Missouri, choosing a CDS provider may feel like one more decision in a process that already has a lot of moving parts. Several organizations may appear to offer essentially the same service, which can make it difficult to know how to compare them.
Missouri gives participants a choice among qualified providers serving their geographic area and encourages participants to ask potential providers about their practices, policies, hours, and other details before deciding. While providers must follow state program requirements, the experience of working with them can still be different.
What Should You Ask a Missouri CDS Provider?
You do not need to become an expert on Consumer Directed Services before choosing a provider. Instead, focus on the things most likely to affect your experience: payroll and administrative support, training, communication, service area, and what happens if you eventually want to change providers.
A good starting point is to ask:
- Who will be my main contact if I have questions?
- How quickly can I expect a response when I have a problem?
- What happens if there is a payroll or paperwork issue?
- What training will I receive before services begin?
- How will you help me understand Electronic Visit Verification (EVV)?
- How will I learn about important program changes?
- Do you currently accept CDS participants in my county?
- What happens if I decide to change providers later?
Pay attention to how those questions are answered. The initial conversation can tell you quite a bit about how clearly and responsively an organization communicates.
Understand What You’re Actually Comparing
Choosing a CDS provider is different from shopping for many other services. Because CDS is a Medicaid-funded program, the decision is not simply about finding the lowest price. A more useful comparison is how well the organization explains the program, handles its administrative responsibilities, communicates with you, and supports you in directing your services.
That gives you a much simpler way to evaluate providers. You are looking for an organization that can handle its responsibilities while making your responsibilities easier to understand.
Ask What Happens When There’s a Payroll Problem
Payroll is one area where you want to understand the process before something goes wrong. Your attendant is depending on being paid correctly and on time, so ask who you contact if a paycheck appears incorrect, an EVV record has a problem, or you have a question about required paperwork.
Missouri requires CDS providers to perform payroll and fringe-benefit accounting functions on behalf of consumers. Responsibilities include collecting and verifying EVV records, paying attendants, and handling required payroll and employment taxes. The Missouri Secretary of State’s CDS regulations provide more detail about these and other provider responsibilities.
You do not need to understand every payroll or tax rule yourself. You do need to know how your provider handles them and where to turn when you have a question.
Find Out What Training You Will Receive
Consumer direction gives you meaningful control over your personal assistance, but it also comes with responsibilities. Missouri requires CDS providers to offer training and orientation related to managing attendants. This includes areas such as recruiting and supervising attendants, EVV requirements, allowable and non-allowable tasks, attendant responsibilities, program fraud, and recognizing abuse, neglect, or exploitation.
Ask what that training looks like in practice. Will someone walk you through the process? Will you have information to refer to later? If you have a question months after beginning CDS, is someone available to help explain it?
Training should help you feel prepared to direct your services rather than simply giving you paperwork to complete.
Find Out Who You’ll Call When Something Goes Wrong
Good communication becomes especially important when there is a payroll issue, an incorrect EVV entry, or something about the program you do not understand. Missouri’s CDS regulations include responding to consumer and attendant inquiries and problems among provider responsibilities.
Ask whether you will have a specific contact, how quickly questions are typically answered, and what happens if that person is unavailable. You may not need assistance often, but you should know where to turn when you do.
Confirm That the Provider Serves Your Area
Not every CDS provider serves every part of Missouri. The state’s provider-selection process allows participants to choose among qualified providers in their geographic area. The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services provides additional information about the provider-selection process.
Before spending too much time comparing an organization, confirm that it provides CDS where you live and can accept your care plan. The Whole Person’s Missouri Consumer Directed Services program serves a designated service area, so this is a useful question to ask early.
Understand What Happens If You Want to Change Providers
Choosing a provider does not necessarily mean you must remain with that organization forever. Missouri CDS guidance addresses situations in which participants change providers and the documentation involved in that process.
If you already receive CDS and are considering a change, ask the new provider to explain the transfer process. Find out what information or paperwork is needed, what you are responsible for, and how the organization will help you through the transition.
Choose a Provider You Feel Comfortable Working With
There is no single question that determines whether a CDS provider is right for you. Consider the overall experience. Were your questions welcomed? Were the answers understandable? Do you know how payroll, EVV, training, and communication will work? Most importantly, do you know what happens next and where to turn when you need help?
If you are still learning about CDS, read How to Apply for Consumer Directed Services in Missouri or CDS vs. Agency Care: Which Is Right for You?. If you are preparing to hire an attendant, How to Choose a Caregiver covers that decision in more detail.
The provider you choose should make the administrative side of CDS easier to understand so you can focus on what the program is designed to support: directing your own care and having greater control over your daily life.
Have Questions About Choosing a CDS Provider?
Learn more about Missouri Consumer Directed Services at The Whole Person or contact The Whole Person if you have questions about getting started or transferring your CDS services.
The Whole Person
3710 Main Street
Kansas City, MO 64111
Phone: (816) 561-0304
