Argentum met with representatives from the CMS Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) yesterday to discuss the recently released Guiding an Improved Dementia Experience (GUIDE) Model, a package of care coordination and management, caregiver education and support, and respite services to improve the quality of life for people living with dementia, reduce strain on unpaid caregivers, and help people remain in their homes and communities.
The meeting provided an opportunity for Argentum to share the value of senior living for people with dementia, including care models led by Argentum member companies that better serve this population. This was Argentum's second meeting this year with CMMI where we discussed opportunities for potential cost savings to Medicare and Medicaid that could be evaluated through demonstration projects. We anticipate continued outreach to CMMI on potential new models to be deployed in senior living communities.
The GUIDE model is primarily focused on better supporting caregivers of people with dementia through care coordination (primary and behavioral health services). It calls for providing a care navigator to help access services and supports, including clinical services and non-clinical services such as meals and transportation through community-based organizations. GUIDE will be tested nationwide from 2024-2032 as a voluntary alternative payment model (APM) through CMMI.
Qualified participating health care providers will deliver comprehensive, person-centered assessments and care plans, care coordination, and 24/7 access to a support line. Providers eligible to be GUIDE participants are Medicare Part B-enrolled providers and suppliers. If an applicant cannot meet the GUIDE care delivery requirements alone, they may contract with another Medicare provider/supplier to meet the care delivery requirements.
Argentum applauds the Biden Administration for making critical resources available through the GUIDE Model. These resources will enhance support to caregivers of those suffering from Alzheimer’s Disease and related dementias and will provide much needed respite care services among other services to family caregivers which will help address a critical area of need.
We also encourage the Biden Administration and state governments to continue to provide assisted living communities who provide specialized care for those suffering from Alzheimer’s related dementias with adequate reimbursement under the Medicaid system so that residents are able to remain in less restrictive community-based settings that assisted living communities provide as an alternative to institutional care.
In advance of CMS releasing the application this fall, interested organizations are encouraged to submit Letters of Interest to CMS by September 15. For additional information, see the GUIDE Model Fact Sheet , FAQ, and press release.
