Switching your CDS vendor

Choosing a vendor is your right, and so is changing your mind. You do not have to reapply for the program, you do not lose your authorized hours, and in most cases your attendant keeps working without a break.

Reasons people switch

• Payroll is late, wrong, or unpredictable.
• Nobody answers the phone, or nobody who can actually help.
• Timesheet problems that never get resolved.
• The attendant’s W-2 or tax withholding was handled badly.
• They were signed up by a hospital or a relative without really choosing.
• They moved and want a vendor closer to home.

You do not owe anyone an explanation. The choice is yours by right.

How the switch works

1. Call us. We will confirm you are currently enrolled and check what needs to move across.
2. We complete new enrollment paperwork with you naming Communicare Elite as your vendor.
3. Your attendant onboards with us — new employment and tax paperwork, and we verify their background screening is current.
4. DHSS is notified of the vendor change.
5. We coordinate the effective date so your attendant’s last pay period with the old vendor and first with us line up cleanly.

What you keep

• Your eligibility — you do not reapply for the program.
• Your authorized care plan and your authorized hours.
• Your attendant, if you want to keep them.
• Your right to switch again if we disappoint you.

What to ask any vendor before you commit

Including us. A vendor that dodges these is telling you something:

• When exactly is payday, and how is my attendant paid?
• Who do I call with a timesheet problem, and what is the response time?
• What happens if my attendant quits — how fast can a replacement start?
• How do you handle it when a payroll error is yours?
• Can I reach a person locally, or only a call center?