Choosing a Provider

Free Choice of Provider Initial and Annual Notification

When you receive a home and community-based services waiver, and every year you have a waiver, your SSA will review your right to choose any qualified and willing provider of the waiver services. Your Service and Support Administrator (SSA) will assist you with the process of choosing a provider, if you request assistance.

Things to know about your Free Choice of Provider:

  • You may pick an agency provider, an independent provider, or a combination of both.
  • You may pick providers from all providers that are willing and available statewide.
  • If a provider offers multiple services, you may choose to receive only one of the services offered by that provider.
  • You may choose different providers for any of your services at any time.
  • If you choose to live in a licensed residential facility, you are choosing the place to live and the HPC provider, but you have a free choice of provider for all other services, and you have the right to move if you want a new HPC provider.
  • If you want to look for a provider yourself, you can go to the Ohio Department of Developmental Disabilities (DODD)
    website to search: http://providersearch.dodd.ohio.gov/ and you can contact the providers on your own.

How to Request Help from Your SSA:

  1. You may contact your SSA at any time to help you search for a provider by phone or email.
  2. Your SSA can help you access DODD’s website to search for qualified and willing providers, share objective information about the providers with you to help you choose, or help you with the provider interview process.

Provider Interview Process

  1. You and your SSA will decide what services you need and what information you want to share with potential providers. Your SSA will fill out a profile form with that information and send it to the Provider Support Resource Support Coordinator (RSC) who works with the list of qualified and willing providers.
  2. The RSC will email the information to all providers that you are interested in interviewing. The RSC will let you know
    what providers are interested in you, and the RSC and SSA will help you choose which providers you want to interview.
  3. The RSC will then schedule interviews with you and the providers you choose, and anyone else you would like to
    attend the interviews. You can also pick a provider without interviewing them.
  4. The RSC or your SSA can help you develop provider interview questions that reflect the characteristics of your
    preferred provider and interview the providers. The RSC or your SSA can give you a guide to help you ask questions.
  5. After the interviews, you will choose which provider you like best, and the RSC will tell the providers if you chose them
    or not. If you don't like any of the providers you interviewed, you can start the process again.
  6. Your SSA will schedule a meeting with you and the new provider to update your Ohio Individual Service Plan (OISP).
  7. Your SSA will follow up with you on the date services are to start with the new provider. If the services do not start as scheduled per the ISP, the SSA will work with you to ensure your health and welfare.

Provider Interview Process

  • If you would like to file a complaint regarding the Free Choice of Provider process, your SSA can help you submit it to the SSA Director. The SSA Director will respond to you within 30 days and provide DODD with a copy of your complaint and our response. DODD will review the complaint and take action as needed.
  • If a provider is conditioning willingness to provide a waiver service to you on being selected by you to provide another service, notify your SSA and the SSA will notify the SSA Director, and the SSA Director will notify DODD.
  • If you feel that you have been denied the free choice of provider, you have the right to request a state hearing in accordance with division 5101:6 of the Administrative Code. You can request a hearing from your SSA or the SSA Director. (See Form Prior Notice of Right to State Hearing)

Additional Contacts:

Ohio Department of Developmental Disabilities:
1-866-313-6733
https://ocf.prodapps.dodd.ohio.gov/

Disability Rights Ohio:
1-800-282-9181