Louisiana Options in Long Term Care: The One Phone Number That Starts Everything

You've searched "long term care Louisiana" and found a maze of acronyms — OAAS, CCW, LT-PCS, LOCET, RFSR. Behind all of them is a single phone number: 1-877-456-1146. That's Louisiana Options in Long-Term Care, the state's centralized intake line for every publicly funded long-term care program.

If your parent needs ongoing help after a hospital stay and you don't know where to start, this is the call.

What Louisiana Options in Long-Term Care Actually Is

Louisiana Options in Long-Term Care is not a program itself — it's the front door to the Office of Aging and Adult Services (OAAS), which sits within the Louisiana Department of Health. When you call the toll-free number, an intake specialist walks you through your parent's situation and determines which programs to screen them for.

Phone: 1-877-456-1146 TTY: 1-855-296-0226 Hours: Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM Central

The intake specialist will ask about your parent's medical conditions, functional limitations (can they bathe, dress, and move around the house independently?), current living situation, income, and insurance. Based on the answers, they'll initiate the assessment process for the appropriate programs.

What Programs the Intake Line Connects You To

Community Choices Waiver (CCW)

The premier home-care waiver program. Services include personal assistance, adult day health care, home modifications (ramps, grab bars, widened doorways), home-delivered meals, respite care, and support coordination. CCW is not an entitlement — it has capped slots, and eligible applicants are placed on the Request for Services Registry (RFSR) waitlist. Priority groups (protective services referrals, ALS diagnosis, nursing facility residents of 90+ days) bypass the standard chronological queue.

Long-Term Personal Care Services (LT-PCS)

The no-waitlist alternative for personal care. LT-PCS provides up to 32 hours per week of hands-on assistance with Activities of Daily Living. Eligibility requires meeting Nursing Facility Level of Care and Medicaid financial limits. Unlike CCW, LT-PCS is an entitlement program — if your parent qualifies, services begin after the assessment is completed without a registry wait.

Adult Day Health Care (ADHC)

Structured daytime programs at licensed facilities providing supervision, meals, activities, and some medical services for adults who cannot stay home alone safely. Available as a standalone Medicaid service or as part of a CCW Plan of Care.

Nursing Facility Placement

For individuals whose care needs exceed what can be managed at home. The intake line initiates the Level of Care Evaluation Tool (LOCET) assessment, which determines whether the person meets the clinical threshold for nursing home admission under Medicaid.

What to Expect When You Call

The first call is an intake screening, not an enrollment. You won't walk away from a single phone call with services in place. The intake specialist collects information, opens a case, and schedules the appropriate assessments.

Expect to provide:

• Your parent's full name, date of birth, and Social Security number
• Current address and living situation (alone, with family, in a facility)
• Medical diagnoses and current medications
• Whether your parent has Medicare, Medicaid, or private insurance
• Income sources and approximate amounts (Social Security, pension, investments)
• A description of what your parent can and cannot do independently — be specific about falls, confusion, incontinence, wandering, or unsafe behavior

Be honest about your parent's limitations. Many parents underreport their struggles. If your parent tells the assessor "I'm fine, I just need a little help," but you're actually providing 4 hours of hands-on care daily, the assessment will undercount their needs. Ask to be on the call or provide a supplementary statement.

Timeline after the intake call:

• LT-PCS: A nurse assessor schedules an in-home or phone-based assessment, typically within 1 to 3 weeks. If approved, services can start within days of the assessment.
• CCW: Your parent is added to the RFSR registry. Wait times depend on priority group and current slot availability. General waitlist applicants may wait months to over a year.
• LOCET (nursing facility): Assessment typically completed within 3 to 5 business days. Expedited assessments available for hospital discharge situations.

Common Mistakes Families Make

Waiting too long to call. The CCW waitlist starts from the date of your request, not the date your parent's condition worsens. If there's any chance your parent will need home-care assistance in the coming months, call now to get the registry date established.

Assuming the hospital will do this for you. Hospital discharge planners may reference OAAS or mention "home care options," but they do not typically initiate the CCW registry request on the family's behalf. That call is yours to make.

Confusing the intake line with the Council on Aging. Your parish Council on Aging provides community services (meals, transportation, senior center activities) but does not administer Medicaid waiver programs. For waiver enrollment, LOCET assessments, and formal long-term care intake, you need OAAS through the Options in Long-Term Care line.

Not following up. After the intake call, you should receive written confirmation of your case opening and the registry date (for CCW). If you don't hear back within two weeks, call again. Cases can fall through cracks, especially during high-volume periods.

When to Call: Before vs. After Hospital Discharge

Before discharge (ideal): If your parent is still in the hospital and the discharge plan involves returning home with care needs, call the Options line while they're still hospitalized. The assessment process can begin before discharge, potentially reducing the gap between leaving the hospital and receiving services.

After discharge (common): Most families don't discover this line until after their parent is already home and struggling. Services can still be initiated — LT-PCS in particular can be set up relatively quickly once the assessment is complete.

During a nursing home stay: If your parent is in a nursing home and you want to transition them home with waiver support, call to get on the CCW registry. Nursing facility residents of 90 days or more qualify for Priority Group 4, which expedites their registry placement.

For a complete walkthrough of how Louisiana's long-term care intake process connects to hospital discharge planning, Medicare appeals, and Medicaid eligibility, the Hospital-to-Home Louisiana guide maps the full sequence from hospital bed to home care.

See more Louisiana guides →