Pennsylvania Independent Enrollment Broker: What Applicants Should Know

The Pennsylvania Independent Enrollment Broker is the state's designated point of contact for individuals seeking Community HealthChoices (CHC) and related long-term services and supports (LTSS) pathways administered by the Office of Long-Term Living (OLTL). The IEB conducts initial intake, performs level-of-care and functional assessments, supports choice counseling, and helps applicants understand managed care organization (MCO) options.

Because the IEB's role sits at the very front of the process, most applicants interact with it before they ever choose a service coordination agency such as Alenta. The IEB is meant to be a neutral, state-directed resource — it does not represent any single managed care organization or provider, and it is not paid to steer applicants toward a particular company.

For many families, the first contact with the IEB comes at a stressful moment: after a hospital stay, a diagnosis, or a sudden change in a loved one's ability to manage daily life safely at home. Understanding, in advance, what the IEB does and does not do can make that first phone call less overwhelming and help you know what information to have ready.

Most applicants begin by contacting the IEB directly, using the official numbers above, or by being referred through a hospital, county assistance office, or managed care organization. Have basic identifying information ready: name, date of birth, county of residence, and a general description of the support needed.

Some families prefer to have someone else make that first call — an adult child managing a parent's care from out of state, or a spouse who is overwhelmed by a recent hospitalization. That's allowed, but the IEB will generally want confirmation that you're authorized to act on the applicant's behalf, especially once the process moves into financial and medical detail.

A functional/level-of-care assessment evaluates daily living needs, health status, and support requirements. This assessment, combined with the financial eligibility determination, informs whether an applicant may qualify for the program.

For Community HealthChoices, approved participants generally select or are assigned a managed care organization (MCO). Choice counseling, offered through the IEB, is meant to help applicants understand their MCO options before choosing.

Families often lose time when financial and functional pieces move on separate tracks — a medical assessment can be complete while a financial application is still pending, or vice versa. Missing documentation, unclear next steps after intake, and uncertainty about which office to call next are the most common sources of delay. Keeping copies of everything you submit, and following up in writing, can help.

Another common source of confusion is simply not knowing who to call when a question doesn't fit neatly into "intake," "assessment," or "financial eligibility." Because several different offices are involved — the IEB, the County Assistance Office, and eventually an MCO — a question can bounce between departments if it isn't framed clearly. Asking each office directly, "is this something you handle, or should I contact someone else?" can save real time.

Once you are enrolled in Community HealthChoices, participants generally choose a service coordination provider through their MCO. Alenta provides person-centered Pennsylvania waiver service coordination across 14 counties and can also offer general navigation support to families who are still early in the process and trying to understand it. Learn more about Pennsylvania waiver programs, about Community HealthChoices service coordination, or about our waiver service coordination generally.

Concretely, that navigation support might look like helping you understand a letter you received from the IEB, talking through what a level-of-care assessment involves before your appointment, or explaining the difference between the financial and functional halves of the application. It does not mean submitting paperwork on your behalf, determining your eligibility, or speaking for the state in any capacity.