If we were to summarise our role as Plan Management Specialists, we might say that it is to lessen the administrative burden for Participants receiving NDIS funding payments.
In more detail; we take away the administration management complexities and cash flow burden that can exist with a self-managed plan and are here to help Participants understand the NDIS system. We do this while managing claims and payments on behalf of our NDIS Participants.
That isn’t the full story though …
There is another HUGE (little known) advantage that Plan Management can give Participants.
As Plan Manager, we can help Participants access a larger pool of services that they couldn’t access if they were agency managed.
Let that sink in for a second before we get into some detail.
We asked our National Business Development Manager Cherie Cordina to help make this completely clear:
“Working through NDSP, recipients can, for example, hire an equine or music therapist, who might otherwise be unavailable to them through the NDIS-registered system. This means more choice and control over services for NDIS recipients.”
The importance of choice and control cannot be overstated.
NDIS recipients can often miss out on a lot of niche or exclusive care providers, as there has been a shift of late with small businesses saying that they won’t sign up to be a registered NDIS provider due to the auditing process costing too much.
Thankfully, with NDSP you DO have access to many of those niche or exclusive care providers, and to help illustrate the gravity of this additional choice and control, let us introduce you to our youngest Participant (and without doubt one of the cutest); one-year-old Mia.
Mia has left hemiplegic cerebral palsy and cortical blindness, caused by an antenatal stroke. She came through the Early Childhood Early Intervention (ECEI) side of NDIS, with her mother Taylor originally using an NDIS-registered occupational therapist to help Mia with her developmental issues. Unfortunately, Taylor was noticing little progress.
During this period, Taylor had heard about an occupational therapist who was producing great results nearby, but unfortunately was not an NDIS registered provider. Recognising the importance of the therapy, Taylor helped Mia join NDSP as a Plan Managed Participant so she could access non-registered providers, and specifically her preferred occupational therapist.
We asked Taylor about her approach:
“I chose Plan Management because I wanted the freedom to choose Mia’s providers even if they aren’t NDIS-registered. I also didn’t want the stress of processing everything myself, or having to go directly through the NDIS. It has been perfect for us so far.”
Without doubt, the best part of Mia’s story however, is that only three months into her new therapy Mia is able to bare weight, has gained strength in all limbs and has started moving her left arm. She has also started understanding more words.
Having the choice and control to select the right providers is a huge part of a successful NDIS Plan, and we’re proud to say that our role, in-part, exists to make that happen for our Participants.
“Our proudest moments at NDSP is hearing the amazing feedback from our customers who tell us that we make their life easier and that they will sleep better now because they know they can trust us to do our job. This means they can get on living their lives and we hope this means living their best lives yet” – Cherie Cordina.
We’ll bring you more of Mia’s story over the coming months, stay tuned!
As Plan Managers we at NDSP are here to make your experience with the NDIS as simple as it can be. For more information get in touch with us via our online form or give us a call on 1800 63 63 77.
