Choose the person who cares for you.
Communicare Elite provides Consumer Directed Services and licensed, Medicare-certified home health across St. Louis City, St. Louis County and Missouri communities within about 40 miles. With CDS you pick your own attendant and we handle the payroll, the paperwork and the Medicaid billing.
What Consumer Directed Services means for you
Consumer Directed Services — CDS — is a Missouri Medicaid program for adults with physical disabilities who can direct their own care. Instead of an agency assigning you a stranger on the agency’s schedule, you choose the person who comes into your home. That can be a neighbor, a friend, or a family member other than your spouse.
You are the employer. You hire, train, schedule and supervise your attendant. Communicare Elite is your vendor: we verify eligibility paperwork, run payroll and taxes for your attendant, keep the program records the state requires, and bill MO HealthNet on your behalf so no money changes hands between you and your attendant.
Two services, one organization
Consumer Directed Services
Long-term, non-medical personal care that you direct. You hire your own attendant — including a family member other than your spouse — and MO HealthNet pays for it.
Home health
Skilled clinical care at home under your physician’s orders — nursing, physical, occupational and speech therapy, home health aide and medical social work. Licensed and Medicare-certified.
Not sure which you need? Compare the two →
Three ways people come to us
I need care at home
You are 18 or older, have MO HealthNet, and need help with daily tasks like bathing, dressing, cooking or getting to appointments.
I want to be paid to care for someone
You are already helping a parent, an adult child, a sibling or a friend. In CDS that work can be a paid job — as long as you are not their spouse.
I want attendant work
You want steady, local work helping someone stay in their own home. We are hiring attendants across the St. Louis area.
What your attendant can help with
The Department of Health and Senior Services authorizes specific tasks based on an in-home assessment of what you actually need help with. Commonly authorized tasks include:
- Bathing, showering and personal hygiene
- Dressing and undressing
- Grooming, shaving, hair and nail care
- Toileting and incontinence care
- Transferring, positioning and mobility help
- Meal preparation and eating assistance
- Laundry, light housekeeping and shopping
- Rides to medical appointments and errands
See the full list of covered tasks →
Why families choose Communicare Elite
You keep control
You choose your attendant and set the schedule. If it is not working, you can replace them without losing your services.
We carry the paperwork
Payroll, withholding, W-2s, timesheet processing and Medicaid billing are ours. Your attendant gets paid properly and on time.
Local and reachable
We are on Woodson Road in St. Louis, minutes from Lambert. You can reach a person, not a phone tree.
Not sure where to start? Call us.
Call (314) 809-6655 for a free consultation, or text (314) 886-5902. We serve St. Louis City, St. Louis County and Missouri communities within about 40 miles of our office.
Frequently asked questions
Does CDS cost me anything?
No. Consumer Directed Services is funded through MO HealthNet — Missouri Medicaid. If you are approved for the program and eligible for MO HealthNet, you do not pay Communicare Elite, and you do not pay your attendant out of pocket. See the eligibility requirements.
Can my daughter or my son be my paid attendant?
Yes. Missouri law excludes only your spouse from being your paid personal care attendant. Adult children, parents, siblings, other relatives, friends and neighbors can all be hired, provided they pass background screening and complete our onboarding. How family caregivers get paid.
How long does it take to get started?
The timeline depends on the Department of Health and Senior Services, which performs the in-home assessment and authorizes your services — not on us. We can start your paperwork and your attendant’s onboarding while that is in motion. See the step-by-step process.
What if I already have a different CDS provider?
You can change vendors without reapplying for the program or losing your authorized hours, and usually without a break in your attendant’s pay. How to switch to Communicare Elite.
Do you serve my area?
We serve St. Louis City, St. Louis County, and Missouri communities within roughly 40 miles of our office — including St. Charles County and Jefferson County. We serve Missouri only. See the full service area.