Federal Grants Available to Support PACE in Rural Communities

This article was originally published on NPA Online.

WASHINGTON, DC – JAN. 27, 2025 – The National PACE Association (NPA) is pleased to announce that the Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA) has made available up to $2 million in federal grant funding for fiscal year (FY) 2025. This funding will support the expansion of the Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) into rural communities. The Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO), along with important pre-registration and application requirements, can be accessed on Grants.gov. Applications are due by 11:59 p.m. ET on April 17, 2025.

“The National PACE Association has advocated for this opportunity to expand PACE into rural areas, where it is sorely needed,” said NPA president Shawn Bloom. “PACE has a proven track record of improving care outcomes for older adults, and these grants provide the resources needed to reach populations in rural communities that can greatly benefit from this model of care.”

Through the Rural PACE Planning and Development Program, HRSA will make as many as four awards of up to $500,000 per year to assist with the development of initial Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) PACE programs in HRSA-designated rural areas or to expand existing certified CMS PACE programs into these areas through service area expansion (SAE). This initiative follows critical recommendations outlined in the 2023 policy report by the National Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services (NACRHHS), which benefited from contributions by NPA and PACE stakeholders.

HRSA will host a technical assistance webinar for prospective applicants on Feb. 11, 2025, at 2:30 p.m. ET. A recording is expected to be made available afterward. Additional information about the HRSA webinar can be found on Grants.gov under the Related Documents tab. NPA also plans to convene a webinar for its members to provide further insights into this opportunity. Details about the NPA webinar will be announced soon.

Eligible applicants include domestic public and private nonprofit or for-profit entities, including state, county and local governments, hospitals, and federally qualified health centers (FQHCs), with demonstrated experience serving or having the capacity to serve rural underserved populations. Awards are expected to be announced by Sept. 1, 2025.

For additional details, refer to the NOFO on Grants.gov or contact Rural PACE at HRSA. NPA members also may reach out to Peter Fitzgerald, executive vice president of Policy and Strategy, or Katie Pahner, vice president of Regulatory Affairs, at NPA for more information.