What is care management?

Care management is a set of services to help people with disabilities and/or people with multiple health conditions make sure that their healthcare and other needs are met.

For those who are receiving services through OPWDD, care management also refers to the work of Care Coordination Organizations (CCOs) and care managers.

What is a care manager?

A care manager is a trained professional who coordinates healthcare, wellness, and services to meet a person’s needs.

If you have the OPWDD Medicaid waiver, your care manager will work for a CCO. They will meet regularly with you to find out how you are doing and discuss any changes to your supports and services.

What does a care manager do?

Care managers can provide health home care management, which is based on the health home model. They can also provide basic HCBS support, which means they only help you with services and supports through OPWDD.

Health home Care Management includes:

• Coordinating OPWDD supports and services;
• Coordinating access to behavioral health services, medical, and dental services;
• Identifying community resources;
• Using technology to help you find services; and
• Connecting you to care providers.

To receive health home care management, you will need to sign a consent form that allows your care manager to speak with your health and medical service providers. Here is a link to the Department of Health’s Health Home Patient Consent form DOH-5055.

If you only have OPWDD eligibility (without the Medicaid waiver) you may be able to receive care management services through another Health Home. For more information please see New York State Department of Health – Medicaid Health Homes

What are Care Coordination Organizations?

CCOs work with people with developmental disabilities to submit OPWDD eligibility applications to the Developmental Disability Regional Office (DDRO). They also provide care management services for individuals enrolled in the OPWDD HCBS waiver.

Below is a list of the 7 CCOs. To find out which CCOs serve your county you can also visit CCO Coverage Areas.