The whole world is a dumpster fire, but in New York, we’re fighting a battle that many don’t know about. Our governor, Kathy Hochul, is trying to get rid of a critical state Medicaid program.
The Consumer-Directed Assistant Program (CDPAP) is a state Medicaid program that allows people who need home care to hire the caregiver of their choice. CDPAP has been a critical New York Medicaid program since 1995, as it’s provided millions of people with disabilities and age-related care needs with the dignity and comfort of independent living. Under CDPAP, people who use home health care can access support and live their lives to the fullest.
As someone with multiple disabilities — and as a CDPAP consumer — I know just how much this Medicaid program benefits me and my family, as well as others with similar needs. Thousands of New Yorkers can’t afford to lose CDPAP, but our governor is ripping it away from us.
Governor Hochul should replace this tried-and-true program with a similar, equally reliable solution.
Unfortunately, in 2024, Hochul confirmed that she would hand off our CDPAP administration to an out-of-state company, Public Partnership, LLC (PPL). Several other states use this company for home care, but it’s been a disaster. PPL has forced thousands of home care consumers out of the services that they need, and it also hasn’t fairly compensated home care workers. Additionally, PPL has had difficulty maintaining the patient privacy that HIPAA laws guarantee. The company has ongoing lawsuits in several states, too, and its legal issues have resulted in high CEO turnover: seven CEOS in just four years.
Governor Hochul and PPL claim that together, they can smoothly transition all 250,000 home care consumers and 500,000 personal assistants to PPL’s system between January 6, 2025, and April 1, 2025 — just under three months. However, this timeframe is far too short, which means that in the next couple of months, thousands of people will lose their care services, and countless personal assistants will lose their jobs.
Hochul claims that this transition to Public Partnership, LLC will save New York 500 million dollars.
However, the people who need home care will likely lose money. Services could increase in cost, which would leave people with disabilities unable to live as independently as they otherwise could. Also, the only way New York could save money is if PPL cuts consumers’ home care services, which will drastically affect people with disabilities.
New York’s governor needs to understand that the disability community grows quickly because anyone can become disabled at any time — herself included. If Hochul didn’t have such a powerful position, she and her family could need to rely on the same program that she’s threatening with a rushed transition to a greedy, incompetent corporation.
This isn’t just a New York problem.
The Senate introduced a bill called the Home Care Savings & Reinvestment Act. If this bill becomes a law, it would stop states from paying insurance companies billions of dollars in coverage for long-term care plans. This money would go directly to the state instead of funding programs that help people with disabilities access home care.
As a woman with disabilities, I know that this transition is just another roadblock that my community has to face to access the care that we need and deserve. People with disabilities already face many financial barriers, especially in finding personal care. We shouldn’t lose the services we need or face increased prices when we already have so many disadvantages in society.
If you want to fight against this change, call New York’s lawmakers and the lawmakers in your own state. Our future as people with disabilities depends on it.
Featured Photo by Dario Valenzuela on Unsplash.
