Evaluation of PACE as a Permanent Program and a For-Profit Demonstration
CMS / Mathematica
09/30/01 - 06/30/07
Peter Kemper, Department of Health Policy and Administration
Penn State is collaborating with Mathematica, Inc. on the design and evaluation of PACE, Medicare's Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly, under a subcontract from Mathematica. The evaluation is addressing four questions:
- Do PACE enrollees' use of services and indicators of health and quality differ from what they would have been had they not enrolled in PACE?
- Are Medicare and Medicaid capitation rates for PACE enrollees greater or less than the cost that would have been incurred had they not joined PACE?
- Do the effects of PACE differ for nonprofit and for-profit PACE programs?
- How much do PACE programs differ from site to site and between for-profit and nonprofit programs?
To address questions concerning PACE impacts, the evaluation is using a comparison group methodology that compares utilization, cost and quality indicators for enrollees and a comparison group, controlling for differences in health status, disability, income, availability of family and other characteristics. The project is conducting in-person interviews at two points in time and collecting continuous Medicare and Medicaid claims data on service use and expenditures for enrollees and comparison group members. Site variations in implementation of PACE are being documented and analyzed through two rounds of site visits.