New York home care caregivers and consumers on Monday rallied in Latham outside of Public Partnerships LLC (PPL) headquarters. The group called for answers after some caregivers failed to receive paychecks through the recent payroll transition with the Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program (CDPAP).

CDPAP is a state Medicaid program that allows individuals in need of home-based care to hire the caregiver of their choice. Caregivers are compensated through the program, and they can be a friend or family member.

The rally is just the latest development in what has been a troubled ongoing transition to a single fiscal intermediary for CDPAP.

Caregivers and consumers were originally supposed to register with PPL by April 1. Since then, the New York Department of Health has pushed back this deadline amid calls for a delay from lawmakers and advocacy organizations.

Last week, the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) indicated that it planned to review the CDPAP overhaul.

“Usually, a technical review would not be controversial; however, the politics surrounding this issue have really brought it to the forefront,” Damon Terzaghi, senior director of Medicaid and home and community-based services at the National Alliance for Care at Home, previously told Home Health Care News. “From my perspective, the move to a single statewide fiscal intermediary is allowable under Medicaid, so if there is an impact, it means that the review expanded beyond the narrow scope of this amendment.”

Now, caregivers and consumers are weighing in on how the transition period is impacting them.

“For many of us who are CDPAP home care workers, a missed paycheck means we can’t pay rent, buy groceries, or cover transportation to continue providing care,” Lolli Edinger, a home care worker, told CBS 6 Albany WRGB.

Another caregiver, Tara Murphy, told CBS 6 that she hadn’t received compensation and that her hourly wage was lowered by 35 cents.

“I already work for a poverty wage, and my wage was just lowered 35 cents an hour,” she said. “I have a month-to-month lease. Now that’s being threatened, because if I don’t pay my rent on the 1st, I’m out.”

However, PPL has refuted the claims of the caregivers and consumers who have spoken out.

“The same twelve people attended these protests of the program reforms, however PPL services hundreds of thousands of people in the program,” a PPL spokesperson said in an email to HHCN. “All caregivers who submitted a compliant timecard by the payroll deadline of Saturday 11:59 pm were paid last week, same for this week.”

The spokesperson also reported that the protesters who came to PPL’s Latham office on Monday were offered one-to-one assistance.

“Some took us up on the offer and had their issues resolved, some protesters refused our help,” the spokesman said. “It’s unfortunate when these same few protesters refuse help. PPL assists thousands of people every day and all people who accept our appointments leave with a resolution of their questions and concerns. Additionally, we have been processing payroll daily since the first payroll date on April 10 to ensure all PAs who have recently completed their registration or submitted timecards are paid promptly.”