Home care virtual assistants
for Austin agencies
Atlas Care staffs Travis County home care agencies with HIPAA-trained virtual assistants who know Texas Medicaid, Sandata EVV, STAR+PLUS credentialing, and HCSSA compliance — not generic admin tasks.
Austin is one of the fastest-growing metros in the country, and its aging population is driving steady demand for home care across Central Texas. The HHSC Travis Service Area covers Travis, Williamson, Hays, Bastrop, Caldwell, Burnet, Fayette, and Lee counties — a mix of dense urban core and fast-growing suburbs where agencies stretch caregivers across long drive radii. The administrative load of STAR+PLUS managed care, HHSC surveys, and EVV compliance does not require a licensed clinician to manage.
Atlas Care Assistants are trained on the workflows Austin agencies actually run: Sandata EVV exception resolution, STAR+PLUS MCO credentialing, prior authorization follow-up, HHSC survey documentation, and Medicaid claims submission. They start in your tools — HHAeXchange, Sandata, AxisCare, WellSky — without a ramp-up period on Texas-specific compliance basics. In a high-wage labor market like Austin, replacing in-house admin headcount with a trained Atlas team protects already-thin margins.
You can start with a single role or build a full back office. Every Atlas Care Assistant works under a dedicated team lead, follows documented SOPs built with your agency, and is covered by our 30-day fit guarantee. Most Austin agencies are live in 14 days.
Austin STAR+PLUS MCOs
Travis County is part of the HHSC Travis Service Area. Under the STAR+PLUS contracts effective September 1, 2024, two managed care organizations serve this area. Agencies must credential with each plan and manage separate authorization and billing workflows. Atlas Care Assistants are trained on both.
Superior Health Plan
Centene plan; largest STAR+PLUS footprint in Texas. Credentialing via the Superior provider portal.
UnitedHealthcare Community Plan
Auth and claims through UHC Provider Express. Active across the Travis Service Area.
For a full breakdown of Texas Medicaid programs, MCO credentialing timelines, and payer requirements, see our Texas STAR+PLUS & Medicaid Payer Guide.
HCSSA compliance and EVV for Travis County agencies
Texas HHSC requires every home care provider — personal attendant services, licensed home health, and home care agencies — to hold a valid HCSSA license. Licensure requires an initial HHSC survey and annual compliance inspections covering policy documentation, caregiver credential files, client service plans, and in-service training records. A gap in any of these areas creates survey risk and, for Medicaid providers, potential MCO contract issues.
Electronic Visit Verification (EVV) is mandated for all Texas Medicaid personal care and home health services. Austin agencies primarily use Sandata, the state-designated EVV aggregator, though agencies running HHAeXchange as their platform also process EVV through it. Atlas Care Assistants resolve EVV exceptions daily: verifying clock-in/out discrepancies, correcting GPS location flags, documenting missed-visit reasons per MCO requirements, and reconciling completed visits against authorizations before billing runs.
Our team also maintains the documentation trails that support clean HCSSA surveys: credential expiration tracking (TB tests, CPR, background checks, licenses), in-service training logs, and caregiver file maintenance — so agencies do not need a separate internal system for compliance documentation.
Related resource: EVV Compliance for Home Care Agencies — how Atlas Care Assistants handle exception resolution and visit reconciliation across Sandata and HHAeXchange.
The roles Austin agencies hire
Each role is staffed by a trained Atlas Care Assistant embedded in your tools from day one. Start with one role and add as your agency grows.
Scheduler
Owns the master schedule — fills gaps before they become missed visits.
Intake Coordinator
Handles every inbound inquiry same-day, from first call to start of care.
Recruiter / HR Admin
Runs your caregiver pipeline: sourcing, screening, onboarding, credential tracking.
EVV & Billing Specialist
Resolves EVV exceptions, submits claims, works denials — protects your Medicaid revenue.
Executive Assistant
Takes owner-level admin off your plate: inbox, calendar, reporting, vendor coordination.
Questions from Austin home care agencies
Do Austin home care agencies need a Texas HCSSA license?
Yes. Every home care provider serving clients in Travis County — personal attendant, licensed home health, or home care services — must hold a valid Home and Community Support Services Agency (HCSSA) license issued by the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC). HHSC conducts an initial licensing survey and annual compliance inspections covering policies, caregiver credentials, and client documentation. Atlas Care Assistants maintain the credential tracking and documentation trails that keep agencies survey-ready.
Which STAR+PLUS MCOs are active in Austin?
Travis County is in the HHSC Travis Service Area. Under the STAR+PLUS contracts effective September 1, 2024, two managed care organizations serve this area: Superior Health Plan (Centene) and UnitedHealthcare Community Plan. Each MCO has separate credentialing workflows, prior authorization processes, and billing portals. Atlas Care Assistants are trained on both and manage the credentialing and auth follow-up for each.
What EVV systems do Austin home care agencies use?
Most Texas Medicaid MCOs require Sandata as the state-mandated EVV system. Agencies that use HHAeXchange as their home care platform also run EVV through that system. Atlas Care Assistants handle daily EVV exception resolution in both — verifying clock-in/out discrepancies, correcting GPS location data, documenting missed-visit reasons, and reconciling completed visits against prior authorizations before billing.
How does a virtual assistant help an Austin agency manage labor costs?
Austin is a high-wage market, which makes every in-house back-office salary more expensive than it would be elsewhere in Texas. An Atlas Care Assistant runs scheduling, intake, EVV, or billing at a flat monthly fee per role — typically well below the loaded cost of a local hire — so Austin agencies can keep coverage tight without growing fixed payroll in one of the priciest labor markets in the state.
How quickly can an Austin agency get started?
Most Austin agencies are live with their Atlas team in 14 days. Week 1 covers kickoff, system access, and role matching. Week 2 your Atlas Care Assistants integrate into your EVV portal, scheduling system, and inbox and begin taking work off your plate. The 30-day fit guarantee applies from day one — if the placement is not right, we replace them at no cost.
Resources for Austin home care agencies
Get your time back.
Let your agency breathe.
30 minutes on Zoom. We map your admin bottlenecks, identify the roles that would unlock the most hours, and show you exactly what your first 30 days with Atlas would look like.
No pressure. No long-term contract. Walk away with a plan, even if we're not a fit.