What is PACE?

PACE, or Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly, is a comprehensive managed care program of services and supports designed to help keep people living at home for as long as possible. Each participant in PACE has a team of at least eleven (the interdisciplinary team ) that creates an individualized care plan to meet his or her needs. Financing for the program is capped, which allows PACE providers to deliver all services participants need, rather than limit them to those reimbursable under Medicare and Medicaid fee-for-service plans. This gives PACE flexibility.

History of PACE Programs in NC

The State of North Carolina has supported PACE for a decade and a half. In 2004, the North Carolina General Assembly directed the NC Department of Health and Human Services to develop a pilot program to implement PACE. Elderhaus resulted from this pilot program. In 2008, the State amended its State Medicaid Plan to include PACE as a permanent option.

North Carolina’s first PACE program, Elderhaus, opened in 2008 in Wilmington. It was followed soon thereafter by Piedmont Health SeniorCare in Burlington, which was part of a national initiative to expand PACE to rural areas. Two more programs opened in 2011, in 2012, in 2013 and in 2014. One program, Piedmont Health SeniorCare, opened a second center in Pittsboro as well. In 2015, the last PACE program opened in Asheville.

Currently, there are eleven North Carolina PACE programs with twelve centers in operation serving 2,100 people. There are PACE programs in Asheboro, Asheville, Charlotte, Durham, Fayetteville, Gastonia, Greensboro, Lexington, Newton, Pittsboro and Wilmington.  Click here to find and contact a NC PACE Center.

Organizations have submitted applications to the state to serve additional new areas, and to expand current service areas. 

Eligibility

To enroll in a PACE program, you must be:

• age 55 or older
• reside in the PACE organization’s service area
• be certified as eligible for nursing home care in NC and
• be able to live safely in a community setting at the time of enrollment.