Getting started with Communicare Elite

There are two tracks running at once — the state’s approval process and our onboarding. Starting both early is the single biggest thing you can do to shorten the wait.

Start here: call us

A free consultation, no obligation. We will ask a handful of questions, tell you honestly whether the program looks like a fit, and explain what happens next in plain language.

What to have handy

Nothing is required to make the first call, but these speed things up:

• Your MO HealthNet (Medicaid) number, if you have one.
• A short description of what you need help with day to day.
• The name of the person you would like to hire, if you already have someone.
• The name and phone number of your case manager, if one is involved.
• Your date of birth and current address.

Then request your state assessment

Approval for the program itself comes from the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, not from any vendor. Request a Home and Community Based Services assessment by calling 866-835-3505. Referrals can also be made through the DHSS online referral form or an HCBS-1 form.

We can rehearse that call with you and tell you what the assessor will want to know.

Meanwhile, we onboard your attendant

If you already know who you want to hire, send them to us now. Background screening in particular can take time, and getting it moving early means your attendant is ready the day your care plan is authorized.

What the first phone call is actually like

It is short, and it is not a sales call. We will ask roughly five things: your age, whether you have MO HealthNet, what you need help with day to day, whether anyone is already helping you, and where you live. From those answers we can usually tell you whether the program is likely to fit.

If it clearly does not fit — you are not MO HealthNet eligible, you are outside our service area, you need skilled nursing rather than personal care — we will say so and point you toward something more useful. Starting paperwork that will not go anywhere wastes months of your time and none of ours, which is precisely why some providers do it.

Common things that slow people down

Problem	What to do about it
Not currently enrolled in MO HealthNet	Apply for MO HealthNet first — CDS cannot start without it. Ask us who to contact.
Waiting for the assessment before doing anything else	Do not. Start your attendant’s screening in parallel — it is often the longer of the two.
Understating your needs at the assessment	Describe your worst days, not your best ones. An honest account produces a care plan that matches reality.
No attendant identified yet	Tell us early. We recruit across the St. Louis area and can bring you candidates to interview.
Attendant has something on their record	Have them disclose it up front. A disclosed record is a conversation; a discovered one ends the application.

What we will never do

• Promise you a specific number of authorized hours. Only DHSS sets that.
• Promise a specific approval date. The assessment schedule is not ours.
• Charge you a fee. CDS is funded by MO HealthNet.
• Pick your attendant for you. That decision is the point of the program.