CDPAP in New York: who qualifies, PPL and how to enroll

CDPAP is a New York Medicaid program that lets people who qualify for home care choose and hire their own personal assistant, who can be a friend or a family member, with limits. Since 2025 every CDPAP consumer must work with one statewide fiscal intermediary, Public Partnerships LLC (PPL), which handles the assistant's pay.

What CDPAP is

The New York State Department of Health describes CDPAP as a state Medicaid program that allows Medicaid members who are eligible for home care to choose and hire their own personal caregiver, called a personal assistant. It is for chronically ill or physically disabled people who have a medical need for help with daily activities or who need skilled nursing services. The Department says services a personal assistant provides can include any of the services a personal care aide (home attendant), home health aide or nurse normally provides.

What changed in 2025

Before the change, CDPAP ran through a number of separate fiscal intermediaries. The Department's pages still include a transition policy for "current fiscal intermediaries". The Department's current CDPAP page, revised May 2026, says PPL is the Statewide Fiscal Intermediary and that all CDPAP recipients are required to work with PPL. The CDPAS page, revised July 2026, lists a notice of a limited temporary restraining order dated March 31, 2025 and a payment policy for the period of a preliminary injunction dated April 14, 2025, so the rollout was contested in court. It also lists a Department document dated July 17, 2026, titled as a clarification on CDPAP in relation to the federal Fair Labor Standards Act. We did not read that document, so check it if wages or hours matter to your case.

For people already enrolled, the Department's CDPAP page says eligibility and services were not changing, and that personal assistants also needed to transition to PPL to receive timely payments.

Who qualifies for CDPAP

The Department lists these conditions. You must:

• be eligible for New York State Medicaid;
• have a stable medical condition;
• have a determined need for home care services using a state approved assessment tool;
• meet the Minimum Needs Requirements, if you are 21 or older; and
• be able to direct your own care, or have a designated representative who can make decisions for you.

The Minimum Needs Requirements

Since September 1, 2025, adults 21 and older seeking personal care services (PCS) or CDPAP must be assessed as needing at least limited assistance with physical maneuvering with more than two activities of daily living. For people with a dementia or Alzheimer's diagnosis, the test is at least supervision with more than one activity of daily living. The Department says the requirement applies to initial assessments and reassessments on or after September 1, 2025, and also to people 18 and older who want to join a Medicaid Advantage Plan or managed long term care plan.

The Department says the requirement does not apply to PACE enrollment, and does not apply to people who were authorized or receiving PCS or CDPAP, or continuously enrolled in a managed long term care plan, as of September 1, 2025. They continue under the previous criteria.

How assessment and enrollment work

For people 18 and older, the Department says a community health assessment and clinical appointment by the New York Independent Assessor Program (NYIAP) comes first. For people under 18, a doctor sends a Physician's Order for Services to the local social services district or managed care plan, which completes the assessment.

The Department says the local department of social services or the Medicaid managed care plan develops the plan of care. To be paid through CDPAP, you and your assistant work with PPL. The Department's CDPAP page links to a "How to register with PPL" guide and says consumers can also contact their managed care organization or local department of social services for help with registration. Consumers who want help from a CDPAP facilitator can complete the Department's optional facilitator selection form.

Who can be your personal assistant

The Department says your assistant can be a friend or family member, as long as they are not:

• your spouse;
• your designated representative; or
• the parent of a CDPAP consumer under the age of 21.

That means an adult child, a sibling, a grandchild or a neighbor can be an assistant, if they follow the enrollment steps with PPL. See our paid family caregiver page for New York.

What you are responsible for

As the consumer, or through your designated representative, the Department says you recruit, hire, train, supervise and terminate your assistants, arrange back-up coverage, coordinate other services, keep payroll records and work with PPL to process payroll. The fiscal intermediary processes wages and benefits, income tax and other withholdings, and keeps employment records. We do not state pay rates because the Department's CDPAP page points to a separate rates page that we did not read.

CDPAP or personal care services

CDPAP and personal care services (PCS) are both Medicaid home care. The Department says the types of services and who can provide them differ, and it publishes a comparison chart and fact sheet. With PCS, Medicaid managed care plans and local social services districts contract with home care agencies that employ the aides. With CDPAP you choose and manage your own assistant.

Contact

The Department says all inquiries about CDPAP and the Statewide Fiscal Intermediary go to PPL at 1-833-247-5346. You can also contact your managed care plan or local department of social services. Carevo is a connection platform and directory. We do not enroll anyone in CDPAP, assess eligibility or run payroll. If you want a licensed home care agency instead of CDPAP, see home care providers in New York.

More about care in New York

• All New York Medicaid programs for care at home
• Paid family caregiver in New York
• Home care providers in New York