·State program
Community First Choice Option (CFCO)
Community First Choice Option (CFCO) provides Medicaid-eligible New York residents who need hospital, nursing facility, or ICF/IID level of care with personal assistance services in their own home or family member's home. Support needs are reassessed at least every six months or when needs change or at the individual's request.
Questions that decide eligibility
GiveCare prepares the questions; the program makes the decision. Bring these to the call or the application:
- 01
Does the person receiving care live in New York?
Residency is usually the first thing a program checks.
- 02
What counts as a qualifying disability or level of care need, and what documentation shows it?
- 03
Does the VA disability rating meet the program’s minimum (our record lists null%)?
- 04
Do the work hours meet the minimum (our record lists null hours)?
- 05
Is there a caregiver-specific department, coordinator, or support line? Ask for it by name.
Many agencies have one that isn’t advertised on the website.
- 06
What documents do you need from us to start an application?
- 07
Is there a waitlist right now, and how long is it?
Who qualifies, in the source’s words
Where our record has a direct quote from the official source, here it is — otherwise, this is our best reading of the rule.
Disability of the person receiving care
“An initial determination must be made that the individual seeking CFCO services requires the LOC provided in a hospital, a nursing facility, an Intermediate Care Facility for Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities (ICF/IID)”
health.ny.gov →Minimum VA disability rating
Minimum VA disability rating: null%.
Work hours
Minimum work hours: null.
State residency
“Only an individual living in his/her own home or the home of a family member is eligible for CFCO services.”
health.ny.gov →
How to apply
- 01
individuals on NY State of Health (NYSOH) Medicaid requesting CFCO must contact the Health Exchange Facility (hxfacility@health.ny.gov, 518-473-6397); others go through their Local Department of Social Services or Managed Care Organization for CFCO eligibility determination