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PACE providers, participants ask committee to enshrine Program of All‑Inclusive Care for the Elderly in state law
Summary
PACE operators, staff and participants asked the committee to recognize PACE in statute (H781 / S477), citing the model’s role in keeping nursing‑home‑eligible seniors in the community, high satisfaction rates and expansion to more than 270 communities.
Program of All‑Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) operators, staff and participants urged the Joint Committee on Elder Affairs to support H781 / S477, a bill to put PACE into state statute.
Jen Maynard, executive director of the Massachusetts PACE Association, described PACE’s expansion: eight providers operate 20 locations serving nearly 6,000 participants across more than 270 communities. She said PACE serves nursing‑home‑eligible individuals — including dually eligible Medicare‑Medicaid beneficiaries — and helps more than 90 percent of participants remain in community settings rather than nursing homes.
Participants and on‑site staff told the committee PACE coordinates medical care, provides transportation and delivers equipment and services that would otherwise be fragmented across agencies. Ethel Delgado, a PACE participant, said enrollment relieved financial strain from medical costs and supplied coordinated services including an electric wheelchair, transportation and home visits.
Supporters argued putting PACE into statute would confirm the model’s role in the state’s long‑term‑care continuum, elevate program awareness and align PACE with other statutory programs that serve similar populations.
Committee members heard participant accounts and asked about geographic expansion and statutory design; PACE representatives said statute would support stable recognition and help coordination with other state programs and funders.
Ending: PACE advocates asked the committee to support H781 / S477 to secure statutory recognition and improve program visibility for consumers and health partners.
