Veterans Independence Program (VIP)
The Veterans Independence Plus (VIP) Program is the VA Boston Healthcare System’s Veteran Direct Care (VDC) Program that works with Massachusetts Aging Services Access Points. The program provides Veterans, in need of nursing home level care, a budget to buy services to support them in their homes. The VA Boston works with Aging Services Access Points (ASAP) to provide the VIP program to Massachusetts Veterans. Tempus Unlimited will perform employer-required tasks and related administrative tasks for individuals (“Employers”) in our VIP Program as the Fiscal Intermediary (FI).
All Aging Services Access Points (ASAP) will pay the FI the MassHealth administrative rate for services provided.
Veterans use their budget to hire their own personal care workers, including family members. Veterans may not:
- Use agencies to provide workers
- Hire people with legal financial responsibility or activated health care proxies
What Services are Available
- Hiring private caregiver(s) to complete activities of daily living (ADLs) such as eating, bathing, dressing, grooming, and toileting
- Adult day health care
- In-home respite services from community home care agencies
- Assistive technology such as emergency response systems and electronic pill reminders
- Snow removal
- Durable Medical Equipment (DME) and personal care supplies not provided by the VA
- Individual requests for medically necessary items will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis
Eligibility
The Veteran:
- Is Enrolled in the VA Boston Healthcare System
- Has had a Primary Care appointment with a VA Boston primary care provider during the previous 12 months
- Is dependent on another person to complete four or more of ADLs -bathing, grooming, dressing, toileting, eating, ambulation, transferring, and bed mobility
Responsibilities
- The Veteran is responsible to hire, schedule, and train people to complete personal care tasks.
- If the Veteran is either cognitively or physically unable to manage the program, a representative must be assigned. The surrogate must live with the Veteran or regularly visit the Veteran in their home to monitor care.
These are some of the employer-required tasks Tempus Unlimited, Inc. performs as Fiscal Intermediary:
- Register the employer with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and other state tax agencies;
- Process payrolls, and issue payroll checks and direct deposits as a Fiscal Employer Agent for the Worker (the employee of the employer);
- Deposit taxes and file tax reports with the IRS and other state agencies;
- Process state and federal unemployment payments and reports;
- Purchase workers’ compensation insurance for the employer;
- Provide customer service to the employers and their workers;
- Supply documents and forms needed to process payroll for the worker.
EMPLOYER INFORMATION
This page contains important information for employers to help them manage their workers. Employer setup forms and links can be found here.
FI PAPERWORK:
TIMESHEETS
ADDITIONAL CASE MANAGER FORMS
PACKAGES
FORMS YOU SHOULD KEEP
- Fiscal Intermediary Procedure for Submitting Complaints and Grievances – VIP
- Notice of Privacy Practices (NPP) (English)
- Notice of Privacy Practices (NPP) (Spanish)
- Department of Industrial Accidents Notice to Employees
- Change Form and Supply Request
- 2023 Payment Schedule 1
- 2023 Payment Schedule 2
- 2024 Payroll Schedule 1
- 2024 Payroll Schedule 2
LINKS
WORKER INFORMATION
Tempus Unlimited, Inc. does not directly hire workers or other employees of employer. Workers are direct legal employees for the person they are providing care for (employers).
Please be advised, the following individuals cannot be hired as workers:
- Surrogate
- Legally Responsible Relative
You must also be legally authorized to work in the United States, be able to understand and carry out your instructions, and cannot be receiving pay for employee work time from any other agency.
WORKER FORMS
Paperworkr is a software program that Tempus uses to capture and validate new-hire data online securely. Paperworkr uses prompts throughout the application to ensure that we are capturing all the information Tempus needs to process the hiring paperwork of your new worker The application cannot move forward without the information we need, so this ensures that when we do receive your paperwork and when you electronically sign and receive the OK that the submission is complete, the Consumer will begin to receive and be able to pay for worker services, as quickly as possible: Paperworkr Link
- VIP Agreement between Veteran/Employer of Record and Support Worker
- M4
- M4 Sample
- W4 2024 (English)
- W4 2024 (Spanish)
- W4 Sample 2024 (English)
- W4 Sample 2024 (Spanish)
- I9 Form
- I9 Instructions
- I9 Rehire Form
- I9 Translation Form
- I9 Sample
- I9 Rehire Sample
- I9 Translation Sample
- Direct Deposit
- Direct Deposit Sample
- Debit Card Enrollment Form
- Debit Card Enrollment Form Sample
- Debit Card Flyer
- Debit Card Pre-Acquisition Disclosure
- Debit Card Cardholder Agreement
- Electronic Timesheet Agreement
- Electronic Timesheet Sample
PACKAGES
LINKS
Paid Family Medical Leave (PFML) Notice
- PMFL Notice to Employee
- MA PFML Notice of Benefits
- PFML Notice MassHealth PCA/Worker Program 2021.01 – English
- PFML Notice MassHealth PCA/Worker Program 2021.01 – Spanish
| To apply for PFML, PCAs should call: |
|---|
|
The Department of Family and Medical Leave 833-344-7365 8:00am to 5:00pm |
Veterans Independence Program (VIP)
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQs)
- Can an Employer call on a Monday to verify that we received their timesheet/paperwork?
- Should I fax or mail my timesheets in?
- Do Workers get overtime pay for holidays?
- How do I access my paystubs online?
- How do I stop my worker’s Direct Deposit?
- What do I do if I receive the check I placed a stop payment on previously?
- Why isn’t a worker paid when an employer is in the hospital or long-term care facility?
- Are my worker’s Tempus Unlimited FI or ASAP Agency employees?
- When are timesheets due in the FI (Fiscal Intermediary) office?
- What are your business hours?
- Why wasn’t I paid for all the hours submitted on my timesheets?
- How can I get more timesheets, W4s, I9 forms or your weekly schedules?
- My check was mailed, but I haven’t received it, what should I do now?
- How do I terminate a worker?
- When are your fax machines on?
- What is the Office of Inspector General (OIG) Verification?
Can an Employer call on a Monday to verify that we received their timesheet/paperwork?
- You can call to see if the timesheet was processed, if not, inform the caller to note the time he/she faxed it and he/she can call the following day between 7:30am – 4:30pm and we will be happy to verify receipt of the timesheet/paperwork.
Should I fax or mail my timesheets in?
- For faster payment of timesheets, we strongly recommend that you fax them to us at 1-800-359-2884.
Do Workers get overtime pay for holidays?
- No. the VIP Program does not allow for Holiday Pay.
How do I access my paystubs online?
- Worker paystubs are available online PCA Payroll Information Online
How do I stop my worker’s Direct Deposit?
- Please have your worker request in writing. Make sure they include your (employer’s) name and company code (Consumer #). They will then need to provide us with a new direct deposit application, debit card enrollment form or DD Exemption Form, as Direct Deposit is mandatory for all workers as of 1/1/2017.
What do I do if I receive the check I placed a stop payment on previously?
- You cannot cash the check as it has been stopped. Please destroy or VOID the check.
Why isn’t a worker paid when an employer is in the hospital or long-term care facility?
- This is a regulation set by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. There are no exceptions.
Are my worker’s Tempus Unlimited FI or ASAP Agency employees?
- You hire them, train them, decide on their hours and terminate them if you have to. You are the employer of record for the state and federal governments, not Tempus Unlimited (FI) or the ASAP Agencies.
When are timesheets due in the FI (Fiscal Intermediary) office?
- For you to get your workers checks in a timely manner (on Fridays based on your weekly schedule), we need to have your timesheet (in good order) no later than 4:00pm on Monday following the reporting period.
- Etimesheet Users enrolled in Direct Deposit can receive their payment as early as Wednesday by submitting timesheets by midnight Sunday.
What are your business hours?
- Our Consumer Relations Department is available to answer your calls 7:30 am – 4:30 pm Monday through Friday.
Why wasn’t I paid for all the hours submitted on my timesheets?
- There are various reasons for this, we recommend that you call our Consumer Relations Department.
How can I get more timesheets, W4s, I9 forms or your weekly schedules?
- You can download them from our form finder or Paperworkr and print them from home if you have access to a printer. If you do not have access to a printer, you can request to have the forms mailed to you by calling our Consumer Relations Department.
My check was mailed, but I haven’t received it, what should I do now?
- Please give us a call, if we are able to verify that you have been paid, you may request we put a stop payment on the check. We will issue a new check after 5 business days. This is a MassHealth requirement, there are no exceptions.
How do I terminate a worker?
- You can terminate a worker at any time; you will need to complete a PCA/Worker Employment Termination Form. The reason for termination is helpful for us if the worker applies for unemployment.
When are your fax machines on?
- Fax machines are on 24 hours 7 days a week.
What is the Office of Inspector General (OIG) Verification?
- We are required by law to check your new worker hires on the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) to see if there are any restrictions for their employment. If their name appears on this list, we will notify you immediately and no payroll can be processed for these individuals.