CMS has launched a dementia care program that will be piloted by 400 organizations.
The Guiding an Improved Dementia Experience Model focuses on comprehensive, coordinated care that is designed to improve the lives of people with dementia, reduce strain on their unpaid caregivers and enable people with dementia to remain in their homes, according to the agency's website. It is a voluntary, nationwide model that began July 1 and will run for eight years.
The program will also test alternative Medicare payments for delivering key services, including comprehensive, person-centered assessments and care plans, care coordination and 24/7 access to a support line. The program will include care navigators and nonclinical services such as meals and transportation.
Among the organizations that have joined the program are Atlanta-based Emory Integrated Memory Care and Charlotte, N.C.-based Advocate Health.