Tag Archive for: bipartisan

NPA President and CEO Shawn Bloom Calls for End to Barrier to PACE Access

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This article was originally published on NPA Online.

SAN DIEGO – Oct. 13, 2024 – As the National PACE Association (NPA) kicks off its annual conference this week, president and CEO Shawn Bloom called for the removal of a key barrier that is denying millions of Americans access to Programs of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE).

PACE is celebrated for its ability to allow older adults to age in place by providing high-quality home- and community-based care that is coordinated by a team of health care and service providers. The COVID-19 pandemic greatly accelerated the shift toward home- and community-based care as an alternative to skilled nursing facilities. While PACE is experiencing tremendous growth, many people currently cannot afford to enroll in the program because of an unintended penalty on its Part D services.

Unlike other Medicare enrollees, people who participate in PACE are required by federal law to enroll exclusively in the PACE Part D drug benefit. This drug plan costs up to 22 times more on average than the many more affordable Part D plans available to every other person enrolled in Medicare on the open market.

“Congress has a bill under consideration that provides a simple fix with a significant impact,” Bloom said. “The bipartisan PACE Part D Choice Act (S.1703/H.R. 3549) does away with the mandate that PACE program participants with Medicare must enroll in the PACE Part D drug plan and instead allows them to purchase a more affordable Part D plan from the open market.”

Passage of the bill would provide access to a new model of care for millions of seniors and their families, he said.

NPA is convening PACE leaders at its annual conference in San Diego through Oct. 16. NPA will celebrate its 30th anniversary during the event, which will be the most highly attended conference in its history.

About National PACE Association

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.

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

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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.