Agency with Choice Service Option
Frequently Asked Questions

Q1.	What is the Agency with Choice option and am I required to use it?
A1.      Agency with Choice is one of four available options for ALTCS members who receive attendant care, personal care, habilitation, and/or homemaker services in their own home. Under Agency with Choice, the member and employer enter into co-employment relationship providing members the opportunity to play an active role in directing their care with support from a provider agency. Agency with Choice is optional, and members are not required to choose it.

Q2.	What are the other three options available?
A2.	Other available options include:
	Traditional  in-home  care  option:  direct  care  worker  is  solely  employed  by  the provider agency
	Self-directed attendant care option (available to members who are elderly and/or have physical disabilities): direct care worker is solely employed by the member
	Independent provider/fiscal intermediary option (available to members who have developmental disabilities): direct care worker is solely employed by the member

Q3.	What are the responsibilities of the member and provider agency under Agency with
Choice?
A3.       Under Agency with Choice, the MEMBER must select and dismiss his/her direct care worker and may:
	Specify the qualifications for the direct care worker
	Manage the direct care worker (duties, schedule, training, etc.)
	Provide day-to-day supervision of the direct care worker
Under Agency with Choice, the PROVIDER AGENCY:
	Ensures the direct care worker meets the minimum qualifications
	Hires/fires the direct care worker
	Provides standardized training to the direct care worker
	Accounts for and completes necessary paperwork (payroll, taxes, billing, etc.)
	Conducts required supervision visitations
	Assumes responsibilities the member does not directly assume

Q4.	Does Agency with Choice change the amount or scope of services I receive?
A4.       No. Agency with Choice does not change the amount or scope of services members receive.  Agency  with  Choice  is  just  another  way  members  can  choose  to  receive services.

Q5.      Can  I  receive  services  other  than  attendant  care,  personal  care,  homemaker, habilitation if I choose Agency with Choice?
A5.       Yes,  you  may  receive  other  covered  services  while  also  receiving  attendant  care, personal care, homemaker and/or habilitation under the Agency with Choice option.

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Q6.	What if I don’t agree with the amount or scope of services I receive?
A6.	The same process is used to dispute the amount or scope of services under Agency with
Choice as with other service options.

Q7.	What is an individual representative?
A7.       Under Agency with Choice, an individual representative acts on the member’s behalf in electing and directing care, including representing the member during the service planning process.   The individual representative may be a parent, family member, guardian, advocate, or other person authorized by the member to serve as a representative in connection with the provision of services and supports.

Q8.	Can an individual representative be a paid caregiver under Agency with Choice?
A8.	No. Federal regulations prohibit an individual representative from serving as a paid caregiver for a member.

Q9.	Why is an individual representative not permitted to serve as a paid caregiver under
Agency with Choice?
A9.	Because the individual representative is charged with acting on the member’s behalf in electing and directing the member’s care, it is a conflict of interest for the individual representative to also serve as the paid caregiver. Essentially, if the individual representative were allowed to serve in both roles, the individual representative would be responsible for acting as his/her own day-to-day employer.

Q10.	Can  an   individual  representative  be   a   paid  caregiver   under   the  independent provider/fiscal intermediary model?
A10.	Yes. At this time, the same individual can serve as both an individual representative and paid caregiver under the independent provider/fiscal intermediary option. However, this feature may change. In the future, it may be prohibited for all member-directed options, including the independent provider/fiscal intermediary option.

Q11. When will Agency with Choice be available and how do I sign up?
A11.     Agency with Choice will be an available option beginning January 1, 2013. Your support coordinator or case manager will talk with you about Agency with Choice as well as the other service options available to you on or after January 1, 2013, during your regularly scheduled visits.

Q12.	Where can I find more information about Agency with Choice?
A12.	Continue to check the AHCCCS website for updates about Agency with Choice and other member-directed service options.

http://www.azahcccs.gov/shared/SDAC.aspx?ID=memberresources

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