DDD for Members

Welcome to Mercy Care. We look forward to helping you meet your health care needs.

Mercy Care is contracted with the Division of Developmental Disabilities (DDD), a division of the Arizona Department of Economic Security (DES) to provide services to DDD/ ALTCS members in all counties. We help people with developmental disabilities achieve independence and provide support to family members and other caregivers.

Member services

We can answer your questions about benefits, help with finding or choosing a doctor, and solve problems in getting health care services.

Mercy Care Member Services representatives are available to help you Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Please call 602-263-3000 or toll-free 1-800-624-3879 (TTY/TDD 711).

Nurse line
Our nurse line is available 24 hours a day/ 7 days a week to answer general medical questions.
Call Mercy Care Member Services at 602‑263‑3000 or 1‑800‑624‑3879, and select the “speak to a nurse” option.

Children’s Services Liaison
Our children's services liaison can help you navigate the health care system or access services. Just call Ishah Whipple at 480-250-1114 or email whipplei@mercycareaz.org.

What is DDD?

What is DDD? DDD supports people who develop severe and/or chronic disabilities before their 18th birthday. These disabilities limit a person’s ability to do the tasks related to daily living. A person may be eligible to receive developmental disability services if they have a diagnosis of:

Mercy Care provides medical services to more than 14,000 members in the DDD/ALTCS program. In addition, children under age 3, who are at risk for a developmental disability, are also eligible for the Arizona Early Intervention Program. Early intervention is a process in which a group of therapists and educators works with parents and families of children with special needs to support a child’s growth, development and learning.

If an individual is older than 3 years and you and the primary care physician suspect developmental delays, call Member Services at 602-263-3000 or 1-800-624-3879 (TTY/TDD 711) and ask for the DDD representative to talk about services that may be available.

For more information about the Division of Developmental Disabilities.

How to Qualify

The state’s Division of Developmental Disabilities offers services to people who meet certain requirements.

To qualify for DDD, you must:

Be a resident of the state of Arizona
Voluntarily apply
Be at risk of having a developmental disability (up to age 6) OR for people over age 6, have one of the following diagnoses:
- Epilepsy
- Cerebral palsy
- Cognitive/intellectual
- Autism
- Down syndrome
Have a disability that occurred prior to age 18
Have substantial functional limitations in three of the seven major life areas, which include:
- Self-care (eating, hygiene, etc.)
- Receptive and expressive language
- Learning
- Mobility
- Self-direction
- Capacity for independent living
- Economy self-sufficiency

You can learn more at the state’s Division of Developmental Disabilities page.

Liaison

How the DDD liaison can help you If you need extra support understanding the DDD/ALTCS program, we are here to help. As a member or the guardian of a member enrolled in the DDD/ALTCS program, you have access to Mercy Care’s DDD member representative – also known as the DDD/ALTCS Liaison.

The DDD Liaison is your primary contact at Mercy Care. The DDD Liaison can help you with things like:

Finding a provider
Communicating with the state’s DDD office
Coordinating care
Getting behavioral health services
Address access to care concerns

You can reach the DDD Liaison by calling Member Services at 602-263-3000 or 1-800-624-3879 (TTY/TDD 1-866-602-1982).

Behavioral Health Services

If you or a family member needs behavioral health services, please call member services to connect to a behavioral health provider near you. There are many behavioral health services available to ensure you get the best care.

A behavioral health coordinator is available to help you. The coordinator can assist with addressing barriers with behavioral health but doesn't replace the role of the support coordinator or case manager.

You can reach the behavioral health coordinator by calling Member Services at 602-263-3000 or 1-800-624-3879 (TTY/TDD 1-866-602-1982).

Resources

“Navigating the System: A Guide for Individuals and Families” – Learn more about Developmental Disability benefits and services with this Division of Developmental Disabilities tool.

Common developmental disability terms: https://des.az.gov/content/acronyms-developmental-disabilities

Transition from adolescence to adulthood

Autism Speaks has developed a toolkit to assist families on the journey from adolescence into adulthood. Visit the following Autism Speaks Transition Toolkit website to learn more.

Informative documents and bulletins: https://des.az.gov/services/disabilities/developmental-child-and-adult/bulletins-developmental-disabilities

You can learn more about the American Indian Health Program (AIHP) by visiting https://www.azahcccs.gov/AmericanIndians/AIHP

Additional resources:

SARRC – https://www.autismcenter.org

Raising Special Kids – http://www.raisingspecialkids.org

Feeding Matters – https://www.feedingmatters.org

Arizona Autism Coalition – https://www.azautism.org

Ability 360 – http://ability360.org

Autism Society of America (Arizona Chapters) – http://www.autism-society.org/

Epilepsy Foundation of Arizona – https://www.epilepsy.com/

National Center on Caregiving at Family Caregiver Alliance (FCA) – https://www.caregiver.org/pilotIntegration/indexPersistent.html?uri=%2F

Pilot Parents of Southern Arizona – http://pilotparents.org/