Governor Kathy Hochul, it’s time to face the consequences of your decisions. For too long, your office has allowed careless, arbitrary actions to endanger the lives of vulnerable New Yorkers. This month with the transition to PPL, the agency you hand selected to “improve” the Consumer-Directed Personal Assistance Program (CDPAP) has failed our community repeatedly. The most recent fiasco surrounding PPL is the Time4Care app, yet another glaring example of how your leadership continues to fail those who need it most.
The new Time4Care system, which was supposed to make home care services more efficient, has only caused confusion, frustration, and—most concerningly—disruption in care for countless individuals, including myself. I am among the many people who rely on CDPAP to manage my home care. This app was meant to be a tool for empowerment, a means to ensure continuity in care, and a step toward improving the system. Instead, it has become a barrier, introducing fear, uncertainty, and the very real possibility of ongoing care disruptions.
Across New York, individuals like me are worried their care will be compromised due to technical failures that are entirely the fault of PPL and the state. We cannot log in to the app, and we cannot ensure that our caregivers are compensated for the lifesaving work they do. Our lives are being upended by the poorly planned roll out—and your office, Governor Hochul, is complicit.
A far more insidious issue is affecting overnight workers and live-in care cases. People with the highest care needs, people receiving 12-24 hours, are encountering major issues with the timekeeping process. Currently, PPL’s app and Interactive Voice Response (telephone) system are automatically clocking workers out at 11:59 PM and back in at 12:00 AM, even when their shifts run continuously. This means workers who clock in at 7:59 PM and clock out at 7:47 AM, for instance, only have their hours counted from midnight onward—denying them the crucial hours worked before midnight. For example, if a personal assistant works a 12-hour shift, the system approves only 8 hours and automatically denies the 4 hours worked before midnight. This is not a one-time error; many have encountered this issue multiple times, and the solution from PPL—asking consumers to manually submit hours with “app not working” as the reason—places an unfair burden on individuals, especially those with cognitive disabilities or limited technical skills.
Governor Hochul, this is unacceptable. Consumers, many of whom already manage complex health needs, should not be forced to cover for a billion-dollar company contracted to manage timekeeping. Timekeeping is literally the job they were contracted to perform. The system is broken, and it is impacting workers’ pay and consumers’ access to essential services.
Where is the accountability? Where is the recognition this is a matter of life and death for some of us? There is a lack of acknowledgment from both PPL and your administration. No one has stepped forward to take responsibility for avoidable disruptions. Why are we—some of the most vulnerable New Yorkers—being left to pick up the pieces while those being paid with taxpayer dollars to provide these services remain silent?
Governor Hochul, your failure to ensure smooth implementation of such a critical system is a direct betrayal of those of us who depend on it. The time for excuses has passed. These are not just “glitches” in a new app—they are life-altering disruptions that put our health, safety, and well-being in jeopardy. For too long, profit-driven organizations like PPL have been entrusted with critical programs like CDPAP, yet they have proven time and time again that they are not prepared to fulfill the responsibilities placed upon them.
You must hold PPL accountable. The people who rely on CDPAP are not just numbers on a spreadsheet; we are citizens of New York who have the right to live in our communities with dignity, security, and the assurance that our care will not be interrupted due to systemic failure.
The time for empty promises and complacency is over. New Yorkers who rely on CDPAP need a solution now—not tomorrow, not next month. It’s your responsibility to ensure we get it.
Take action, Governor Hochul. The lives of vulnerable New Yorkers depend on it.
Opinions expressed are solely those of the writer(s) and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Able News at The Viscardi Center and/or The Viscardi Center.