PACE Access Improvement Act

After a state-specific compliance date, states would have to provide Medicaid assistance for PACE services to eligible people enrolled in a PACE program. The bill would also remove states’ authority to set a numerical enrollment limit under a PACE program agreement.

Starting January 1, 2027, eligible individuals could enroll at any time during a month, with coverage effective when the PACE provider receives their signed enrollment agreement. Medicare and states would prorate the provider’s payment for the first month when enrollment begins after the first day.

Starting January 1, 2027, providers could apply at any time, including multiple times in one quarter, to become a provider or expand a service area or add a PACE center site. Some qualified providers could add a site in an existing service area by sending a notice instead of an application; covered applications would generally be deemed approved unless the Secretary denies them or requests more information within 45 days.

A program with a complete application to become a provider, expand its service area, or add a center could begin marketing to prospective participants once it submits the application. The bill would allow specified marketing practices and repeal the cited federal regulation.

The Secretary, working with the state administering agency, would establish procedures for entering into, extending, and ending PACE program agreements. The bill would make the operating terms for covered providers the same as those for nonprofit private PACE providers.