Ohio Home Care Waiver Self-Direction Update
From Lisa M. Marn, M.Ed., PCA Program Contract/LTSS Supervisor
As discussed in my Fall newsletter article, the Ohio Home Care Waiver rolled out a Self-Direction option in October 2024. This option enables the participant to be the employer of their provider and have more control over how his/her waiver funds are spent.
I immediately signed up and was one of the first to start the process. There were some bumps in the road, but I am currently self-directing my waiver services. I was able to set the hourly rate that my providers are paid which is much higher than they were being paid by the home health agency. I was able to hire providers that I wanted. I only have PCA services on my waiver plan; some have nursing and/or home care attendant services also. “Hiring” my PCAs was kind of easy for the only requirement is first aid for PCAs. There were some hiccups getting their direct deposits set up which was supposed to just take two pay periods, but ended up taking longer.
PPL is the financial management agency who handles the payroll for self-direction programs in Ohio. The enrollment specialist who is supposed to walk enrollees through the process assigned to me by PPL was not much help. It was a good thing that I knew the process and I was on the planning workgroup because I was able to do most of what had to be done.
I have heard others are not having such a relatively smooth time getting started. The enrollment process is taking longer than the 14 days that was originally stated. This is probably because of the number of enrollees they are receiving. Also, as with my experience, enrollment specialists leave messages for consumers and when they call back, they can only leave messages and play phone tag.
As with any new program, the wrinkles need to be ironed out. I encourage anyone on the Ohio Home Care Waiver or MyCare Ohio Waiver who is interested in self-directing to talk to their case manager about it. If you have any questions or if you would like guidance on the process, please contact me at (216) 389-0379 or Email me at lmarn@sil-oh.org.