NPA Applauds PACE Anytime Act Introduced by Sens. Bob Casey and Mike Braun

This article was originally published on NPA Online.

WASHINGTON, DC – July 25, 2024 – The National PACE Association (NPA) expressed its enthusiastic support of the bipartisan PACE Anytime Act introduced today by U.S. Sens. Bob Casey (D-PA) and Mike Braun (R-IN), chair and ranking member, respectively, of the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging. The legislation would allow eligible individuals to enroll in PACE at any time during the month.

NPA applauds the senators for addressing a significant barrier facing older adults wanting to enroll in the Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE). Currently, new enrollees may begin receiving care only on the first day of every month. The bill also provides the ability to prorate capitation payments to account for varying PACE enrollment dates.

“No older adult should have to wait until the first of the month to begin receiving care and services from PACE,” said Shawn Bloom, president and CEO of NPA. “Given the rapidly rising numbers of older Americans and their clear desire to age in place, it is imperative for our nation to encourage ready access to PACE, which is a holistic model of care that is well equipped to meet individuals’ complex care needs at home and in the community rather than in a nursing facility.”

Other comparable providers, including skilled nursing facilities (SNFs), home health and hospice, are not required to wait for the first of the month to enroll patients who need immediate care. In addition to delaying care, PACE enrollment limitations often force PACE-eligible individuals to seek care in SNFs and other modalities that are critically overburdened.

NPA is grateful to Sens. Casey and Braun for seeking to rectify this inequity so older adults do not face arbitrary delays in obtaining life-sustaining care from PACE, said Bloom.

The National PACE Association (NPA) works to advance the efforts of PACE programs, which coordinate and provide preventive, primary, acute and long-term care services so older individuals can continue living in the community. The PACE model of care is centered on the belief that it is better for the well-being of seniors with chronic care needs and their families to be served in the community whenever possible. For more information, visit www.NPAonline.org and follow @TweetNPA.