CMS Issues RFI on PACE Innovation Act

Recently, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a request for information (RFI) seeking public input on potential adaptations of the model of care employed by the Programs of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) for new populations, including individuals with physical disabilities. The PACE Innovation Act of 2015 (PIA) provides authority to test application of PACE-like models for additional populations, including populations under the age of 55 and those who do not qualify for a nursing home level of care, under Section 1115A of the Social Security Act. (See WICs article, “PACE Proposed Rule Released,” August 15, 2016.) ANCOR has been very involved in work surrounding expanding the current PACE model, including by bringing national disability organizations together to create an adapted protocol with considerations for CMS to consider when using a PACE model for younger individuals with disabilities. 

In the RFI, CMS is specifically seeking information on:

•  Potential elements of a five-year PACE-like model test, called  “Person Centered Community Care” or P3C for individuals ages 21 and older with mobility disabilities that require a nursing home level of care and are dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaid. This potential model is designed to meet the requirements of a model test under Section 1115A of the Social Security Act and to adapt the PACE model of care for one population of focus. Specifically, feedback on the potential elements of the P3C model and on the types of technical assistance that potential P3C organizations and states would require to participate in the model test is requested.

• Specific populations whose health outcomes could benefit from enrollment in PACE-like models, and how the PACE model of care could be adapted to better serve the needs of these populations and the currently eligible population.

CMS welcomes feedback from all interested parties, with comments due on February 10, 2017.