How Do I Choose a White Card Home Health Agency?
Several agencies in Las Vegas serve EEOICPA patients. They are not the same. Before you choose — or before you stay with the one you have — ask these seven questions. Any agency worth your trust will answer all seven directly.
The Seven Questions
Does a Director of Nursing review every start-of-care chart?
Documentation quality determines whether your benefits are billed correctly and your conditions are captured fully. Ask who reviews the chart, and when. At Alara, the Director of Nursing reviews every start-of-care record personally before it is submitted.
Who owns the agency — and do they work on the clinical side?
Ask whether the owner is a clinician, and whether they are reachable. Alara is owned and operated by a registered nurse.
Has the agency, or its parent company, ever settled with the Department of Justice?
Federal settlements involving home health billing are public record and searchable at justice-gov. It is a fair question, and the answer matters. Alara's answer: no.
Will the same caregiver come every visit?
Continuity is the difference between care and coverage. Ask how the agency schedules, and what happens when your regular caregiver is unavailable.
Do they screen for consequential conditions on every admission — and with what tools?
Conditions caused by your accepted illness can be added to your White Card, expanding your covered care. Ask whether the agency screens for them, how, and how often they have actually submitted one. Alara screens every patient at the start of care using validated clinical instruments.
How fast do they respond when something goes wrong with billing?
A billing error under this program means letters, confusion, and sometimes collection notices that should not exist. Ask who fixes billing problems, and how fast.
Will they put their response standard in writing?
Ask any agency to commit, in writing, to how fast they answer a referral, return a call, and resolve a problem. Alara's standard is published on this website: response within two business hours.
What This Comes Down To
Your White Card was earned at the Nevada Test Site and the facilities of the Department of Energy complex. The program exists because of what that work cost. The agency you choose should treat the benefit — and the person who earned it — accordingly.