On November 5, 2015, President Obama signed into law S. 1362, the Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) Innovation Act. The PACE Innovation Act authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to test various improvements to the PACE program, a capitated managed care program that provides comprehensive, community-based care and services to individuals age 55 or older who otherwise need a nursing facility level of care and who often are dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaid. Specifically, the law allows the Secretary to waive requirements under section 1934 of the Social Security Act pertaining to the PACE program when designing and testing models under the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) that are intended to improve health outcomes and reduce costs.
