Consumer Directed Services in Festus, Missouri

Communicare Elite provides MO HealthNet Consumer Directed Services to residents of Festus and the surrounding Jefferson 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 Festus

Festus and neighboring Crystal City sit toward the southern end of our service area, and they are the part of it that feels least like a suburb. This is a small-city and rural community where households are spread out, families have often been in the area for generations, and the nearest neighbor may be a field away.

Rural distance changes what home care has to look like. Agency staffing thins out badly this far from St. Louis, and an aide dispatched from the county line will not be reliable through a Jefferson County winter. Hiring someone local — a daughter-in-law two roads over, a neighbor, someone from church — is not a compromise here; it is the arrangement most likely to hold. Mercy Hospital Jefferson is close by, which keeps the medical transportation side of a care plan manageable.

How CDS works for Festus 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 Festus

If you already help a parent, an adult child, a sibling or a friend in Festus, 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 45 minutes from Festus. Most business is handled by phone, but you are welcome at the office; call ahead so someone is expecting you.

Questions from Festus families

Am I too far out to qualify?

Festus is near the outer edge of our roughly 40-mile radius but within it. If you are unsure about your specific address, call (314) 809-6655 and we will tell you plainly.

Can a neighbor be my paid attendant?

Yes. There is no requirement that an attendant be related to you — only that they are not your spouse and that they clear background screening.

Do you serve Crystal City, Herculaneum and De Soto?

Crystal City and Herculaneum, yes. De Soto is close to our limit — call and check with your address.

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 · St. Charles · St. Peters · O’Fallon · Wentzville