National PACE Association
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| National PACE Association | |
|---|---|
| Name | National PACE Association |
| Abbreviation | NPA |
| Formation | 1983 |
| Headquarters | Washington, D.C. |
| Region served | United States |
| Leadership | Board of Directors |
National PACE Association
The National PACE Association is a U.S.-based nonprofit trade association representing Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly stakeholders. It operates at the intersection of federal health policy, long-term care reform, and aging services to support providers, coordinate with payers, and engage with regulators. The association works with a range of partners from Capitol Hill committees to state health departments and research institutions.
History
Founded in 1983 amid shifts in Medicare and Medicaid policy, the association emerged during debates following the enactment of the Social Security Amendments and the development of the Medicare hospice benefit. Early collaborators included providers experimenting with capitated payment models and community-based care initiatives linked to demonstrations in California and New York. Over successive decades the association interacted with stakeholders such as the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Office of Inspector General, and congressional offices on the Senate Finance Committee and House Ways and Means Committee. Prominent engagements occurred during policy milestones like the Balanced Budget Act and the Affordable Care Act, alongside research from institutions including the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
Mission and Programs
The association's mission centers on supporting integrated care for frail older adults through advocacy, education, and technical assistance. Programmatic work includes training for clinical teams, quality measurement aligned with the National Quality Forum, and dissemination of care models evaluated by RAND Corporation and the Urban Institute. It runs conferences, webinars, and publications that engage associations such as the AARP, American Hospital Association, and National Association of Area Agencies on Aging, and collaborates with research partners like Mathematica Policy Research and RTI International.
Membership and Structure
Membership comprises sponsoring organizations, provider-directors, executive leaders, and corporate partners drawn from health systems, independent PACE organizations, and managed care entities. Governance is overseen by a board of directors and committees reflecting clinical, legal, finance, and compliance functions; committees coordinate with accrediting bodies like The Joint Commission and the National Committee for Quality Assurance. Member relations involve partnerships with state Medicaid agencies, state departments of aging, and trade groups such as the Association of American Medical Colleges and the American Health Care Association.
Advocacy and Policy Initiatives
The association advocates on reimbursement, regulatory, and scope-of-service issues before policymakers in the White House, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the Congressional Budget Office, and appropriations subcommittees. Initiatives address capitated payment models, care coordination rules, telehealth waivers influenced by executive actions during public health emergencies, and waiver pathways under Medicaid 1115 demonstrations. The association produces policy briefs, engages with think tanks like the Kaiser Family Foundation and Brookings Institution, and files comment letters responding to rulemaking by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and the Department of Health and Human Services.
Operations and Funding
Operationally the association maintains headquarters staff in Washington and regional liaisons that work with state Medicaid offices and area agencies on aging. Funding derives from membership dues, conferences and sponsorships, grant awards from foundations such as the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the John A. Hartford Foundation, and contracts for technical assistance with state governments. Financial oversight involves audit committees, compliance with Internal Revenue Service nonprofit rules, and collaboration with consulting firms including McKinsey & Company and Deloitte for strategic planning.
Impact and Outcomes
The association measures impact through metrics tied to hospitalization rates, community residence retention, and quality indicators tracked by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and the National Quality Forum. Research collaborations have documented outcomes comparable to institutional care in cost and quality studies by RAND Corporation and Health Affairs analyses, influencing state adoption and expansion of PACE programs. The association's advocacy has contributed to policy changes adopted by state legislatures and federal agencies that affect service design, reimbursement, and integration with behavioral health, palliative care, and primary care delivery systems.