Consumer Directed Services in St. Charles, Missouri

Communicare Elite provides MO HealthNet Consumer Directed Services to residents of St. Charles and the surrounding St. Charles County area. If you are eligible, you choose your own personal care attendant — including a family member other than your spouse — and we handle payroll, program paperwork and Medicaid billing.

Why home care matters in St. Charles

St. Charles is one of the oldest towns in Missouri and one of its fastest-aging suburbs at the same time. The historic district near Main Street has houses that predate indoor plumbing, while the subdivisions spreading west were built for young families in the 1980s and 90s whose owners are now retiring in them.

Crossing the Missouri River is the local wrinkle worth naming. Attendants coming from St. Louis County have to deal with the Blanchette or Discovery bridges, and I-70 through this stretch is genuinely unpredictable at rush hour. For a service that depends on someone arriving at a set time every morning, that argues strongly for hiring within St. Charles County. SSM Health St. Joseph Hospital is right here, which keeps most medical trips short.

How CDS works for St. Charles residents

1. Confirm you are likely eligible. You need to be 18 or older, eligible for MO HealthNet, physically disabled, able to direct your own care, and assessed at a nursing facility level of care. Full requirements.
2. Request a state assessment. The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services assesses you at home. Their referral line is 866-835-3505.
3. Receive an authorized care plan listing the tasks and hours approved for you. What can be authorized.
4. Choose Communicare Elite as your CDS vendor.
5. Hire your attendant — anyone but your spouse, subject to background screening. How to choose.
6. Work begins. You and your attendant sign biweekly timesheets; we run payroll and bill Medicaid. How pay works.

What your attendant can help with

See the full list of covered tasks →

Getting paid to care for a family member in St. Charles

If you already help a parent, an adult child, a sibling or a friend in St. Charles, that work can become paid employment. Missouri law excludes only the consumer’s spouse from being a paid personal care attendant — every other relationship is eligible.

How family caregivers get paid →

Distance from our office

Communicare Elite is at 4477 Woodson Rd, Suite 106, St. Louis, MO 63134, minutes from Lambert International Airport — roughly about 20 minutes from St. Charles. Most business is handled by phone, but you are welcome at the office; call ahead so someone is expecting you.

Questions from St. Charles families

Is St. Charles County in your service area?

Yes — all of it, including St. Charles, St. Peters, O’Fallon, Wentzville and the smaller communities between them.

Should my attendant live on this side of the river?

Not required, but strongly worth considering. Bridge traffic is the most common reason a St. Charles attendant arrangement becomes unreliable.

Can my attendant take me to St. Joseph Hospital?

Transportation to medical appointments is an authorizable task. Whether it is in your plan depends on your assessment.

Does CDS cost me anything?

No. The program is funded by MO HealthNet. You do not pay Communicare Elite and you do not pay your attendant directly.

Can I switch to Communicare Elite from another vendor?

Yes, without reapplying for the program or losing your authorized hours. How switching works.

Nearby communities we also serve

St. Louis City · St. Louis County · Florissant · Ferguson · Hazelwood · Bridgeton · Maryland Heights · University City · Kirkwood · Chesterfield · Arnold · Festus · St. Peters · O’Fallon · Wentzville