A service in Careswitch represents a type of care your agency delivers. When one authorization covers two kinds of care, you set up a service for each — and for VA and other insurance (third-party) clients, Paradigm handles the billing setup, so the service itself is really all you need in place.
The common VA example
A VA authorization covers both Home Health Aide and Homemaker care. These are billed differently, so you create a service for each, and the authorization carries a separate service group for each. We set up those service groups, their procedure codes, and the billing for you when we review your VA authorization (see "Setting up VA authorizations").
Create each service
In the sidebar, go to Settings → Workspace Services → Create Service and give it a Service Name (for example, "Homemaker").
For VA and other third-party clients, that's the part that matters. You don't need to worry about Rate Type, Rates, or rounding rules — Paradigm takes care of all third-party billing. Those rate fields only affect private-pay billing, so set them up only if you also offer this same service to private-pay clients. (The form does ask you to pick a rate type and enter one rate before it will save — for a third-party-only service that's just a placeholder and won't affect what's billed.)
You don't enter procedure codes here either — for VA/insurance, we attach each service to the right service group in your authorization, with its procedure codes, during review.
"I created Home Health — do I also need Homemaker?"
Yes, if the authorization and care plan include homemaker care. Without a Homemaker service, those shifts have nothing to bill against, and the schedule or billing breakdown will look like it's missing a piece.
FAQ
Do I need to set rates for a VA or insurance service?
No — Paradigm handles billing for VA and other third-party payers, so the rates and rounding rules on the service don't affect those claims. They only matter if you also bill the same service to private-pay clients. (The form still needs a rate type and one rate to save, but it won't change anything on the insurance side.)
My schedule is "missing the homemaker."
The Homemaker service probably isn't set up yet. Create it under Settings → Workspace Services — and if the homemaker hours still don't show against the authorization, reach out via in-app chat so we can check the service group.