PACE has received a little bit more attention lately. Now that we are in the post-COVID world, many people are unhappy with the way that senior care has traditionally been run. And there’s no question about why. Senior care was one of the biggest areas of concern when the pandemic began. Older individuals were impacted much more severely than other populations, including access to seeing loved ones.
An alternative to traditional models is far more appealing to the general public than ever before.
What is PACE?
PACE stands for Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly. It is a program run through Medicare and Medicaid. It is designed to help people meet their needs within a community and to prevent people from unnecessarily going into a nursing home setting.
PACE is typically accessed as a Medicaid service, but it is available to those receiving only Medicare with a co-pay. Premiums will vary based upon location and situation.
Once PACE is in place, it becomes the only health insurance that the individual has.
What is Covered Under PACE?
PACE care is coordinated by an interdisciplinary team. Through it, things like adult daycare, occupational and physical therapy, primary care, nursing care, diet, transportation, meals, emergency care, and home care liaisons can be covered, amongst other things.
PACE will only cover things that are medically necessary. Typically, this means that a doctor has prescribed some sort of service. For approved services there is no co-pay.
It also covers prescription drugs under the Medicare Part D program.
PACE will be beneficial for some people, but it won’t be right for everyone. As I’ve written before, nursing home care is great for some people, but it’s not right for everyone. Even right now, there are likely thousands of people in the U.S. residing in nursing homes because it was convenient for them, and not because it was actually necessary. PACE is an attempt to avoid this.
Additionally, not everyone will necessarily qualify for it. California is currently a participating state, but things do change over time.
If you’d like to learn more about PACE and how it might fit in with your family’s needs and goals, please get in touch with a professional insurance representative that you trust. Additionally, you can head over to the government website to learn more about PACE, what it does, and how to get connected with this insurance. You can learn more here.
Is PACE a competitor of Paradise In-Home Care? Not at all. While there is certainly overlap in the types of things provided, at the end of the day, the missions are the same: to ensure that seniors are connected to the right care for their unique circumstances.
We know that paying for any sort of healthcare can be a burden. If you have questions that we can answer here at Paradise In-Home Care, always feel free to reach out. One of our trained caregivers can help you in a more personalized manner than a quick web search can. Give us a call to talk more.
Leave a Reply